NICOSIA, Jan 16, 2012: The Syrian Free Army on Monday urged the Arab League to let the UN handle the crisis in Syria, accusing President Bashar al-Assad's regime of pressing on with a crackdown despite an Arab plan to end the unrest.

In a statement signed by its leader Riyad al-Asaad, it called on the 22-member bloc to "quickly transfer the case of Syria to the UN Security Council."

The statement, sent to AFP in Nicosia, appealed to the international community to "act quickly against the regime through Chapter 7 of the UN charter to maintain peace" in Syria.

The Syrian Free Army is made up of deserters and says it has 40,000 troops stationed in neighbouring Turkey.

The Syrian National Council, an umbrella group, said in a statement earlier on Monday that it has set up a liaison office and a hotline with the SFA to follow political developments on the ground.

In Abu Dhabi, the UN secretary general appealed Monday to the Security Council to act with "seriousness" on Syria.

"The situation has reached an unacceptable point," Ban told reporters on the sidelines of an energy summit.

"I sincerely hope that the Security Council will handle this in a sense of seriousness and gravity and in a coherent manner," he said, urging member states to overcome their differences.

In October, Russia and China vetoed a Western draft resolution that would have condemned Assad's regime. Russia, which is sticking by its ally, later circulated an alternative that would have pointed the finger at both sides.