UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for efforts to end the violence and flows of arms to both sides in the Syria crisis and launch a Syrian-led transition in the Middle East country at an early date.

The UN chief made the remarks while speaking at the general debate of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly, a week-long event that opened here on Tuesday morning.

"The situation in Syria grows worse by the day," he said. "The crisis is no longer limited to Syria; it is a regional calamity with global ramifications."

"We must stop the violence and flows of arms to both sides, and set in motion a Syrian-led transition as soon as possible," he said, calling the crisis "a serious and growing threat to international peace and security which requires Security Council action."

The Syria crisis, which broke out in March 2011, is one of the top issues on the agenda of the general debate of the 193-member General Assembly.

"Humanitarian needs are escalating, in and beyond Syria," Ban said. "The international community should not look the other way as violence spirals out of control."

Noting that "brutal human rights abuses" continue to be committed, he said "such crimes must not go unpunished."

"There is no statute of limitations for such extreme violence. It is the duty of our generation to put an end to impunity for international crimes, in Syria and elsewhere," he said. Enditem