The humanitarian situation in Syria is now so bad that the Red Cross is struggling to cope, the new head of the international aid agency said Thursday.

"The humanitarian situation is getting worse despite the scope of the operation increasing," Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told reporters in Geneva.

The main opposition Syrian National Council, under pressure to unite and bring in all parties, has elected a new leadership with Islamists heavily represented, SNC officials said on Thursday.

They said a president of the opposition coalition would be chosen on Friday, after the 40-member general secretariat was elected overnight at a meeting in the Qatari capital.

An Armenian plane carrying humanitarian aid for Syria was forced to land in Turkey on Thursday for an inspection of its cargo, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The cargo plane landed at Erzurum airport in eastern Turkey where teams of police and troops with sniffer dogs began their searches, it said.

Turkey said Wednesday it is in talks with NATO over the possible deployment of Patriot missiles on its soil amid the escalating conflict in neighboring Syria, but the prime minister insisted that no request has yet been made.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters during a visit to Brussels that it was only "normal" to discuss any defense measures in the face of potential risk from Syria, according to the state-run Anatolia news agency.

More than 37,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of Syria's anti-regime revolt in March 2011, with over 1,000 dead in the past week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday.

Civilians, at 26,596, represented the vast majority of those killed, said the Observatory, which included in that figure non-military people who have taken up arms against President Bashar Assad's regime.

Syria's foreign ministry warned Palestinians against becoming embroiled in the country's uprising on Wednesday, telling them to stay well clear of armed opposition groups, state television said.

"Syria will strongly oppose any attempt to bring the Palestinians into what is happening in Syria," a ministry source said, urging them to direct their efforts at the Palestinian cause, Syria TV reported.

Syria's main umbrella opposition group, under U.S. pressure to broaden its representation and urged by the Arab League to present a united front, began voting in a new leadership in Doha on Wednesday.

Some 400 members of the Syrian National Council were to choose from 29 lists of opposition groups ranging from liberals to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as ethnic minorities and tribes.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime will not stay in power for long, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said on Wednesday, urging the opposition meeting in Qatar to put aside their differences.

"It is important to unify the opposition's visions, especially because everyone knows that the regime in Syria will not remain for long and one day there will be a new situation in Syria," he told reporters in Cairo.

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon urged President Barack Obama Wednesday to act quickly on ending the war in Syria and reviving the Middle East peace process as he congratulated the U.S. leader on his re-election.

The United Nations "will continue to count on the active engagement of the United States" on key global issues "as it strives to meet the hopes and expectations of people around the world," Ban said through a spokesman.

Pope Benedict XVI's envoy to Lebanon Cardinal Robert Sarah held talks on Wednesday with President Michel Suleiman, who stressed that his visit aims at checking on the conditions of the Syrian refugees in the country.

Sarah pointed out that he will meet spiritual leaders and faithful from Christian churches present in Syria, hold a coordination meeting of Catholic charities and meet with refugees who have fled Syria.