"True courage does not consist in sending in cruise missiles,... it consists in radically breaking from this murderous logic," said former deputy chief of the United Nations Hans-Christof von Sponeck in an appeal published in Swiss daily Le Temps' online edition on Monday.

Sponeck’s former UN colleagues, namely Denis Halliday, Said Zulficar, Samir Radwan and Samir Basta, supported his appeal.

"The time when the United States and the few allies it still has, acted as the world police is over. The world has become more multifaceted and the people of the world want more sovereignty, not less," he stressed.

The call for military action against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the Syrian government of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.

Damascus has vehemently denied the accusations, saying the chemical attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false flag operation.

On Saturday, US President Barack Obama announced a decision to take unilateral military action against the Arab country without a UN mandate.

On Monday, Syria called on the United Nations to prevent any US-led aggression against the crisis-hit country. Damascus has also underlined that Syrian people and army are ready to respond to any attack hatched by foreigners.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.

NTJ/BA