The Syrian conflict has reached an "unacceptable and intolerable" level, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, dpa reported.
"The situation in Syria has become the most troubling and most concerning issue for the international community," Ban said after talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Bogor, south of Jakarta.
Ban said more than 8,000 people had been killed in the crackdown on a year-long uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
He called on the government to allow unhindered humanitarian access and urged the international community to demand an end to the violence.
"We have no time to waste, no time to lose," he said. "One minute or one hour of delay will mean more people dead."
Yudhoyono said Indonesia respected Syrian sovereignty but said the international community should end "the humanitarian tragedy."
"The global community must unite," he said. "Just because we are unable to come up with a UN resolution, it doesn't mean the suffering of the Syrian people can continue."
The UN Security Council is divided about how to deal with Syria. Russia and China vetoed two resolutions that would have condemned al-Assad's government for human rights violations.
The United States, Britain, France, Portugal and Germany supported such a condemnation.
The UN-Arab League special envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, visited Damascus March 9-10 and on Sunday sent a team of experts to the country to discuss ways to end the fighting.
The Arab League and United Nations have called for a ceasefire. The UN said a separate team of relief officials is currently in Syria.