GENEVA - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syria on Wednesday to halt mass arrests of anti-government protesters and to heed calls for reform.

Ban also told a news conference in Geneva that he had spoken with Libya's Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi and called for an "immediate, verifiable ceasefire" and a halt to attacks on civilians.

Ban said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should "heed the calls of the people for reforms and freedom".