BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Salim Hoss issued a stern rebuke to the Syrian regime Wednesday, holding it responsible for much of the violence in the country, and calling on it to end the bloodshed.

Hoss specifically urged Syrian authorities to ban the security services from using their weapons in the regime’s confrontation with the popular uprising.

“Killing only leads to further acts of violence, and the peaceful citizen is the biggest loser," he said in a statement.

“Syria has paid a major price as a result of the recent tragic events, and it is time to put an end to the tragic bloodshed,” Hoss added.

“Aren’t Syrian authorities aware of the grave responsibilities they bear for the tragedies taking place around them?” he asked.

Pointing to the news coming from Syria, Hoss said “fighting” is the reason many people have been killed in Homs.

“How strange it is that the Syrian government continues to use violence to suppress popular protests,” Hoss mused.

“The days have shown the futility of these methods and the grave harm that has been inflicted upon citizens."

Hoss' criticism is significant both for its rarity and its harshness. In Lebanese politics, Hoss has generally staked out a position for himself as a centrist, and remains unaffiliated with either March 14 or March 8, the two major political groupings in the country.

Earlier this month, Hoss criticized the Arab League’s economic sanctions on Syria over its brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, now in their 11th month.

“Arab brothers continue imposing sanctions on Syria. One asks: Do they realize that with their action that they are not punishing the Syrian state so much as they are punishing the Syrian people?”