The U.N. Security Council on Thursday ordered the withdrawal of U.N. observers in Syria, while Russia called for international powers to set a deadline for government and opposition forces to halt the conflict.

The 15-member Security Council decided not to renew the mandate of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) which ends at midnight on Sunday.

Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad issued a surprise decree Thursday appointing three new ministers, state television said, in a reshuffle following the defection of his former premier.

It said Saad Assalam al-Nayef was appointed health minister, replacing Wael al-Halqi, who became prime minister a week ago after his predecessor defected to join the rebellion.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned on Thursday the recent kidnapping of Lebanese nationals in Syria and the abduction of Syrians and other nationals in Lebanon.

He said in a statement: “A wrong cannot be solved with another wrong.”

Al-Meqdad clan announced on Thursday a halt to all of its military operations throughout Lebanon.

Head of al-Meqdad Association Maher al-Meqdad announced during a press conference: “As of this moment, we have halted all military operations because we have a sufficient number of Syrian captives affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, as well as the Turkish national.”

Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday stressed to visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that “Lebanon is fulfilling its humanitarian duties towards the Syrian refugees and the Lebanese and Syrian peoples are like one people.”

“The abduction of the 11 Lebanese is the reason behind this antipathy, but the two peoples will remain brothers under all circumstances,” Berri added.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Thursday the importance of national unity during the current tense security situation in Lebanon.

He told reporters after the national dialogue session: “Arrest warrants will be issued against those who violated security in Lebanon and the airport road will not be blocked again.”

China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi urged a visiting Syrian envoy on Thursday to implement a ceasefire and accept international mediation to end the violence wracking the country.

"China urges the Syrian government and all concerned parties... to quickly implement a ceasefire to end the violence and start political dialogue," Yang told Bouthaina Shaaban, according to a government statement.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday Syrian President Bashar Assad was "butchering his own people" and that the sooner he leaves the better.

"France's position is clear: we consider Assad to be butchering his own people. He must leave, and the sooner he goes the better," Fabius told reporters at the Zaatari refugee camp, which houses around 6,000 Syrians in northern Jordan.

The Syrian army pummeled districts across the embattled northern city of Aleppo on Thursday, leaving 18 civilians dead, while eight soldiers died in clashes with rebels, a watchdog said.

The violence, which nationwide left 34 dead so far on Thursday, followed a bloody day in which at least 172 people were killed across Syria including in an air strike in the northern town of Aazaz, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

U.N. aid chief Valerie Amos said Thursday she was still pushing Damascus to allow international aid organizations to operate in Syria, warning that more than one million Syrians faced "destitution.”

"Over a million people have been uprooted and face destitution. Perhaps a million more have urgent humanitarian needs due to the widening impact of the crisis on the economy and people's livelihoods," she told reporters in Damascus.