U.N. says Syria buffer zone plans raises serious questions

UNITED NATIONS Aug 30 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday proposals to set up secure safe zones in Syria to help end the 17-month conflict raised "serious questions" and would need to be studied carefully.

Ahead of a meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria, France and Britain warned Syria's President Bashar al-Assad that military action to secure buffer zones for civilians inside the country was an option.

"Such proposals raise serious questions and require careful and critical consideration," Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said at the start of the ministerial meeting.