Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told UN chief Ban Ki-moon that military operations against the protesters have stopped. The UN said in a statement that Mr. Assad was responding to a demand from Mr Ban during a phone call that all military operations and mass arrests must cease immediately. Mr Assad has come under mounting international pressure to end his violent crackdown on demonstrators. Meanwhile, the UN human rights chief will call for the international war crimes court to investigate Syria's deadly crackdown at a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday. The 15-nation council is to meet on the Syria crisis amid growing concern over President Bashar al-Assad's military assault on pro-democracy protests, which is said to have killed about 2,000 people in five months.