Unless the bloodshed in Syria stops, the region could descend into a chaotic sectarian conflict, Secretary of State John Kerry warned yesterday, as he called for a political resolution to the 2-year-old civil war that has claimed 93,000 lives.

The United States and 10 Arab and European nations agreed at a meeting in Qatar to step up military aid to the Syrian rebels.

While declining to disclose details, Kerry insisted that the United States is seeking not a military victory but “a political settlement” to the conflict.