Syria warns West against intervention

The United States has condemned Syria for the deaths of dozens of children in an apparent artillery barrage, and said "rule by murder" must end.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the incident to emerge as an "atrocity" and said Washington would work with its international allies to increase the pressure on President Bashar Assad and his "cronies".

"Rule by murder and fear must come to an end," she declared.


This indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is unacceptable and I would also say unforgivable.

Major General Robert Mood
Her remarks come as the head of the UN mission there warned of "civil war" after his observers counted more than 92 bodies, 32 of them children, in the central town of Houla following reports of a massacre there.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon joined a chorus of international condemnation amid mounting calls for world action to halt the bloodshed.

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said it was no longer committed to the UN-backed peace plan for Syria unless there was prompt UN intervention to protect civilians, and called for air strikes against regime forces.

UN head of mission Major General Robert Mood called what happened in Houla a "brutal tragedy."

Gen Mood told Sky News: "Whichever way you look at this, whoever started and whoever responded and whoever contributed, to this deplorable act of violence should be held responsible.



The UN counted 92 bodies in Houla, including those of 32 children

"This indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is unacceptable and I would also say unforgivable."

A human rights monitoring group said 114 people had been killed in Houla.

Mr Ban and Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League envoy who brokered a truce which has been flouted daily since it came into effect April 12, said the attack was a "brutal" breach of international law.

"This appalling and brutal crime, involving indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force, is a flagrant violation of international law," a UN spokesman quoted the pair as saying.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said "we will be calling for an urgent session of the UN Security Council in the coming days."

Amateur videos posted on YouTube showed horrifying images of dead children, with at least one child's head partly blown away.

The massacre will heighten the importance of a trip Mr Annan is to make to Syria "soon", his spokesman said, while the Security Council is due to discuss Syria on Wednesday.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan called for an urgent Arab League meeting, saying the "massacre shows the failure of Arab and international efforts to stop the violence against civilians in Syria."

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, of which the UAE is a member, urged the international community to "assume its responsibilities" to end the bloodshed.


***It is thought that Russia is supplying heavy Artillery and tanks to Syria. Isn't the UN going to challenge them over this when massacres like this ,
30 children under 10 were killed!!!!

5:40pm UK, Sunday May 27, 2012

A global backlash following the deaths of more than 90 people - dozens of them children - in central Syria has forced the government to reiterate its denial of responsibility.
The UN mission there warned of "civil war" after its observers counted more than 92 bodies, 32 of them children, following an apparent artillery barrage in Houla.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon joined a chorus of international condemnation amid mounting calls for world action to halt the bloodshed.

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said it was no longer committed to the UN-backed peace plan for Syria unless there was prompt UN intervention to protect civilians, and called for airstrikes against regime forces.



A protest in front of the Syrian consulate in Istanbul on Sunday

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the incident as an "atrocity" and said Washington would work with its international allies to increase the pressure on President Bashar al Assad and his "cronies".

"Rule by murder and fear must come to an end," she declared.

But the Syrian government denied it was behind the shelling of Houla, and said "terrorists" were to blame for the massacre.

"Women, children and old men were shot dead. This is not the hallmark of the heroic Syrian army," said foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdesi.

Speaking in Turkey, the president of the country's main opposition bloc, the Syrian National Council, said: "We are asking the Syrian government to fulfil their duties to the country's people and stop these attacks.

"We are asking the people of the free world to help Syria."

He went on: "The Syrian people need to carry on in their fight for freedom."

Syria's charge d'affaires is being hauled before a top civil servant to the Foreign and Commonwealth office so Britain can stress its "condemnation" of the assault.


This indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is unacceptable and I would also say unforgivable.

Major General Robert Mood
Foreign Secretary William Hague called for "urgent" action from the UN Security Council and "a strong international response" to the incident - one of the bloodiest in Syria's 14-month-old uprising against President Assad's regime.

Mr Hague has been speaking to Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League envoy who brokered a truce which has been flouted daily since it came into effect April 12, and condemned the attack as a "brutal" breach of international law.

Mr Annan will be visiting Syria on Monday for fresh talks with senior officials, while Mr Hague meets Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

Unified international action to tackle the Syrian crisis has proved difficult with both Russia and China vetoing UN resolutions condemning Mr Assad's regime.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said the Security Council would need to have "all the options on the table".



The UN counted 92 bodies in Houla, including those of 32 children

He told Sky News' Murnaghan programme: "Plainly the events (in Houla) throw into very sharp relief what's happening on the ground and the frustrations of the Security Council and those that have backed the plan.

"Yesterday's events were appalling. The evidence would appear to point to the hands of the Syrian regime for the massacre of men, women and children.

"We believe there should be an urgent meeting of the Security Council and they will have to have all the options on the table that they need in order to show that the international community cannot be thwarted."

Mr Burt said it was important the Russians and Chinese backed Mr Annan's plan to prompt a collective international response to the latest bloody incident.

"There is a fear that things could get worse," he warned.


Rule by murder and fear must come to an end.

Hillary Clinton
"Sectarian violence is now starting to appear. There is a danger of a spread to Lebanon and into surrounding areas."

Asked if Britain was going to ban members of the Syrian regime from attending the London 2012 Olympics, Mr Burt said there was a distinction between athletes and others.

"Senior military figures attempting to come to the UK will have to pass a test that their presence here is conducive to the public good," he said.

He added: "It is clear that certain figures shouldn't really be contemplating a visit to the UK in these circumstances."

Activists claimed government troops continued shelling residential areas in central Syria on Sunday.

They said the central city of Hama and the rebel-held town of Rastan north of Homs were targeted.


This appalling and brutal crime, involving indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force, is a flagrant violation of international law.

Ban Ki Moon And Kofi Annan
There were also reports of clashes between troops and rebels in the Damascus suburb of Harasta and in the capital's central Midan district, as well as a bomb attack on a security vehicle in the Mazzeh district, near a military airport.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were casualties as a result of the bombing, but had no further details.

The total death toll since the uprising against Mr Assad's rule has now topped 13,000.

UN head of mission Major General Robert Mood called what happened in Houla a "brutal tragedy".

Gen Mood told Sky News: "Whichever way you look at this, whoever started and whoever responded and whoever contributed, to this deplorable act of violence should be held responsible.

"This indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is unacceptable and I would also say unforgivable."

Breaking news......The U.N Security Council is meeting tonight at 7pm

am UK, Monday May 28, 2012

The UN Security Council has condemned Syria's government for the shelling of Houla, which has left more than 100 people dead - dozens of them children.
A statement agreed by the 15-member council condemned Friday's massacre "in the strongest possible terms".

Significantly, Russia signed up to the wording - having previously tried to water down criticism of Damascus.

The statement said the attacks "involved a series of government artillery and tank shellings on a residential neighbourhood" and again demanded President Bashar al Assad withdraw heavy weapons from Syrian towns.



The funeral of a man killed in the bombardment

"The Security Council also condemned the killing of civilians by shooting at close range and by severe physical abuse," the statement, which was read out after the council's three-hour emergency meeting by Azerbaijan's deputy UN Ambassador Tofig Musayev, went on.

It added: "Such outrageous use of force against civilian population constitutes a violation of applicable international law and of the commitments of the Syrian government under United Nations Security Council Resolutions."

The Syrian government has denied responsibility for the attacks.

The Security Council met amid new claims from Syrian opposition groups that at least 30 people were killed on Sunday when army tanks shelled neighbourhoods in the city of Hama.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "absolutely sickened" by the Houla attack - one of the bloodiest in Syria's 14-month-old uprising against President Assad's regime.



A protest in front of the Syrian consulate in Istanbul on Sunday

Mr Hague will meet Russia's foreign minister in Moscow later as he tries to persuade the country to take a more robust approach to Syria.

The Security Council was told 116 people were killed in Houla, according to figures from the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

UN monitors have confirmed at least 108 dead including 49 children and at least seven women.

Major General Robert Mood, head of the UN mission in Syria, reportedly told members most of the deaths were from shrapnel and gunfire at "point-blank" range, and that a further 300 people were injured.

Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall-Grant said the Security Council statement, while important, was not enough.

"Over the next two days, the Council will be meeting again to discuss in more detail what steps need to be taken," he told reporters.

UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan is to brief the Security Council on the Syria crisis at a meeting on Wednesday.



UN leader Ban Ki-Moon told members the Houla massacre had added to pressure on its observers, as some in the conflict-stricken country blame them for an increase in violence.

"United Nations observers are facing increasing criticism for not stopping the violence and, in some quarters, even being blamed for an increase," Mr Ban said in a letter.

"There is a misconception, difficult to correct, about the role of unarmed military observers and what they can and cannot do," he added.

"This puts the United Nations presence on the ground in a perilous position both with regard to the ability to conduct operations and to the observers' personal security."

There are now more than 280 UN observers in Syria monitoring the cessation of hostilities, which officially started on April 12.

The number of deaths since the uprising against Mr Assad's rule has now topped 13,000.


BREAKING NEWS.....KOFI ANNAN IS TO MEET ASSAD ON TUESDAY.

May 28, 6:20 AM EDT


Russian FM: Both sides in Syria to blame

By LYNN BERRY
Associated Press




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Latest Syria News
Special envoy Kofi Annan arrives in Syria
With smuggling choked, Syria rebels feel arms curb

Ex-detainee: Syrian prisons are 'slaughterhouses'

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MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's foreign minister said Monday that both sides in the Syrian conflict "had a hand" in the deaths of more than 100 civilians in the town of Houla and called for a full investigation.

The comments by Sergey Lavrov came a day after the U.N. Security Council, which includes Russia, blamed the Syrian government for attacking residential areas in the central town of Houla, but avoided saying who was responsible for the massacre of more than 100 men, women and children.

"Both sides have obviously had a hand in the deaths of innocent people, including several dozen women and children. This area is controlled by the rebels, but it is also surrounded by the governmental troops," Lavrov said after talks with visiting British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Lavrov said there was no doubt that government forces had used artillery and tanks to shell Houla, or that many of the bodies were found with wounds indicating they had been hit at close range or tortured.

"The guilt has to be determined objectively," Lavrov said. "No one is saying that the government is not guilty, and no one is saying that the armed militants are not guilty."

Lavrov and Hague both called for greater efforts to implement a peace plan put forward by special envoy Kofi Annan, which calls on both sides respect a cease-fire.

"It's right, as Sergey Lavrov has just done, to call on all parties to cease violence, and we are not arguing that all violence in Syria is the responsibility of the Assad regime, although it has the primary responsibility for such violence," Hague said.

Lavrov added that "we don't support the Syrian government, we support Kofi Annan's plan."

He called for all in the international community to work together, saying it was not clear from talks with opposition members that they were getting the message that the Annan plan was supported by all.

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The Syria Massacre: What Has Changed? Share

The lives of the survivors of the Houla massacre over the weekend will never be the same. Not only have so many families lost so much, but what was once an area of sporadic unrest can now be expected to become a hotbed of opposition activity and revenge killings.

But as a 'game changer' on the international scene, as one diplomat put it over the weekend? Probably not.

There are turning points in these terrible conflicts. The massacre at Racak in Kosovo is one example, the imminent alleged massacre in Benghazi in Libya last year another.

However, that was then, and that was there.

'Then' was a time when Tony Blair and others were making the argument for liberal interventionism as a coherent policy. Sierra Leone and Kosovo seemed to go well, Mr. Blair remains a hero to many in both places, but after Iraq and Afghanistan there is now no appetite for intervention, especially if it requires 'boots on the ground'.

''There' were mostly places in which intervention appeared a relatively painless option until the wake up call of Iraq and Afghanistan. Last years hammering of the Libyan forces was conducted at long range and with the helped by having a proxy army on the ground in the shape of the rebellion which included many army units which had defected,. Libya did not change the rediscovered caution about foreign adventures.

Intervention in Syria would risk involvement on the scale of Iraq, quite possibly with similar consequences. The Syrian air-force and air defence systems are equipped well enough to take several enemy aircraft with them before they are destroyed. Syria's shore to ship missiles could sink vessels out in the Mediterranean, and its ground forces, with a ready supply of Russian hardware, could resist an invasion and then resort to guerilla tactics once it lost the opening
rounds of a war. The chances of it becoming another Iraq would be high, as would the risk of the conflict spilling into Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan.

Some people call for the Arab powers to become directly involved, but they would find it difficult to come together and vote for intervention. They would find it even more difficult to actually intervene.

The Western powers don't want to get drawn in especially without legal cover from the UN Security Council, and that is unlikely to be forthcoming because it is written in stone in Chinese foreign policy to oppose intervention in another nation' affairs. Russia also would not sign up for a meaningful UN resolution. It regards the Assad government as an ally, and the Russian navy has its only warm water port in Syria.

So instead the UN has issued a non binding resolution condemning the killing, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt was unleashed onto the British airwaves to condemn the massacre and warn that although military action is not being considered, it is not being taken off the table, and the Syrian Charge d'Affairs has been summoned to the Foreign Office. Oh, and diplomats will repeat endlessly that the Kofi Annan 6 point plan, shown yet again to be dead in the sand, is the only game in town.

Its a ghastly, tragic, and deadly game, with elements of poker, and charades.

6:23pm UK, Tuesday May 29, 2012

UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan has warned the violence in Syria has reached "tipping point" and urged Syria's President Bashar al Assad to "act now" to bring an end to the bloodshed.
"We are at a tipping point," warned Mr Annan. "The Syrian people do not want the future to be one of bloodshed and division. Yet the killings continue and the abuses are still with us today.

"Let me stress once again: the violence must stop and the six point plan must be implemented. I need the president to act now. I need other parties to do their part."



Kofi Annan had talks with Syria's president Assad

Mr Annan conveyed to Mr Assad the international community's grave concern about violence in the country, including the Houla killings.

The mediator, who brokered brokered a repeatedly-violated ceasefire, told the president "bold steps" were required for his six-point peace plan to succeed, including a halt to fighting and the release of people arrested in the 15 month-long uprising.

Mr Annan was speaking at a press conference after holding "frank" talks with Mr Assad.

He finished with a message to the Syrian people, saying: "I know that you want a peaceful future. We must not let the bitterness and bloodshed consume the country.

"For the sake of Syria, and for the region, we must end this violence and begin to restore hope in a political transition to a democratic future - a future in which all communities have their place. I am totally committed to this cause and I am sure you all are."

Mr Assad told Mr Annan that "terrorist groups" have stepped up their killings and kidnappings, and the success of the peace plan depends on "the end of terrorism", according to Syrian state TV.

"The success of the Annan plan depends on the end of terrorist acts and those who support them and the smuggling of weapons," the president was quoted as saying.

Governments around the world signalled their outrage at the killing of at least 108 people in Houla on Friday, including 49 children and 34 women, by expelling senior Syrian diplomats.

Britain expelled the Syrian charge d'affaires and two other diplomats in protest at the recent massacre.

Several other countries, including the US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Canada, and Switzerland took similar measures against Syrian envoys in their capitals.

The nations are trying to increase the pressure on the regime of Mr Assad amid mounting violence by government forces against civilians and opposition members.

Most of the victims in Houla were civilians and entire families were shot in their homes, the United Nations has said.

Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said fewer than 20 of the killings were due to artillery and tank fire.



Survivors have told UN investigators that most of the other victims died in two waves of executions by pro-government "shabbiha" militiamen in the nearby village of Taldaou, Mr Colville said.

He added: "Almost half of the ones we know of so far are children - that is totally unpardonable - and a very large number of women as well.

"At this point it looks like entire families were shot in their houses."

At least 32 of the 49 children of the massacre were under 10 years of age.

The Syrian government has denied responsibility for the atrocity, blaming "terrorists".

Syria's charge d'affaires, Ghassan Dalla, is the country's top diplomat in London, and British officials said the UK was expelling him and two others as part of a co-ordinated effort with other nations.

The 15-member Security Council has condemned the massacre "in the strongest possible terms".

Significantly, Russia signed up to the wording - having previously tried to water down criticism of Damascus.

More than 13,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the uprising against the Assad regime, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

May 30, 3:31 AM EDT


Activists: New shelling in central Syria

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) -- Activists say Syrian troops are shelling restive suburbs of Damascus and rebel-held areas in the central city of Homs.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees did not have any details of casualties caused by Wednesday's bombardment in Homs city and the suburb Douma.

The rural district of Houla, where 108 people were massacred last week, is in the province of Homs.

Western nations have expelled Syrian diplomats in a coordinated move to protest the massacre, which survivors say was largely carried out by pro-regime gunmen.

The Syrian government has said it will conclude on Wednesday its own investigation into the killings. It is not clear whether the results will be made public.

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The bound bodies of 13 people, some showing signs of being shot at point blank range, have been found in eastern Syria, according to the United Nations.
The head of the UN observer mission to Syria, Major-General Robert Mood, said the victims had been discovered with their hands tied behind their backs.



In a statement the veteran Norwegian peacekeeper said he was "deeply disturbed by this appalling and inexcusable act."

"He calls on all parties to exercise restraint and end the cycle of violence for the sake of Syria and the Syrian people," a statement released on Maj-Gen Mood's behalf said.

It has emerged that the bodies were discovered on Tuesday night in the area of Assukar, 30 miles east of Deir Ezzor.

The latest discovery has given further importance to the UN Human Rights Council special session being held on Friday to probe the May 25 massacre in Houla.

The UN said at least 108 civilians died in the attack, including 49 children and 34 women, amid fears of widening sectarian bloodletting.


Boy: I Saw My Family Shot Dead
Survivors have told harrowing stories of the killings, with one child describing how his entire family were shot dead.

Meanwhile, tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions have occurred in Damascus, neighbouring Turkey and at least 11 foreign capitals.

China and Russia have also voiced their opposition to any UN Security Council backed military action in Syria.

"We believe that a review now by the Security Council of any new measures on the situation would be premature," Russia's deputy foreign minister Gennady Gtilov said.

Russia also condemned the diplomatic expulsions as "counterproductive".

Strategically important Turkey has told Syria to withdraw all its diplomats from Ankara within 72 hours and warned it and the international community will take further "measures" if crimes against humanity continue.

China's foreign ministry also reiterated its opposition to military intervention, as UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's "frank" talks with Syria's President Bashar Assad warned of a "tipping point" being reached.

Spokesman Liu Weimin also stopped short of saying whether China would expel Syrian diplomats over the massacre.



Dozens of women and children died in the Houla massacre

Although French president Francois Hollande said military action against Syria could be launched - a position supported by newly confirmed US Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney - the White House downplayed direct military action.

The US continues to exert economic pressure on the regime and on Wednesday announced sanctions against the Syria International Islamic Bank, which is believed to be a money conduit for the Assad elites.

Mr Annan is due to address the Security Council later today about the work of the UN monitors in Syria, and is also expected to reveal details of his meeting with Mr Assad.

New details have emerged of the Syrian gunmen allegedly behind the massacre, as UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said there are strong suspicions that militia loyal to President Bashar Assad were responsible for some of the killings.



Although an artillery barrage hit Houla people were also attacked in homes

He said there was no reason to believe that "third elements" - or outside forces - were involved after the Syrian regime denied any role and blame the killings on "armed terrorists".

It claimed the assailants attacked army positions in the area and slaughtered innocent civilians, but has provided no evidence to support its case, nor has it given a death toll.

But according to witnesses the massacre in the Sunni village last Friday, 25 miles north west of the city of Homs, had dangerous sectarian overtones.

"It's very hard for me to describe what I saw, the images were incredibly disturbing - women, children without heads, their brains or stomachs spilling out," a Houla resident who hid in his home during the attack said.

He said the pro-regime gunmen, known as shabiha, targeted the most vulnerable in the farming villages that make up the poor area of Houla.

"They went after the women, children and elderly," the resident, who asked that his name not be used out of fear of reprisals, said.



Mr Annan said he had a 'frank' meeting with Syria's Bashar Assad

Shabiha fighters, part of the Alawite sect to which the Assad family and the ruling elite also belong, have spread fears they will be persecuted if the Sunni majority gains the upper hand.

Sunnis make up most of Syria's 22 million people, as well as the backbone of the opposition which is claimed to be entirely secular.

In some cases, the unnamed resident said, neighbours who have lived side-by-side for years are turning on each other driven by sectarian hatred.

The volatile religious divide makes civil war one of the most dire scenarios, feared by UN and Arab League envoy Mr Annan.

Mr Annan said: "We are at a tipping point. The Syrian people do not want the future to be one of bloodshed and division. Yet the killings
continue

Russia 'categorically against' Syria intervention Syrian troops, tanks and artillery were all supposed to have been withdrawn to barracks in April Continue reading the main story
es of a new international initiative over Syria have suffered a setback after a Russian minister ruled out any action by the UN Security Council soon.

Russia "categorically" opposed foreign intervention in Syria, he said, as outrage grew over the massacre of 108 people in Houla last week.

Turkey is expelling all Syrian diplomatic staff from Ankara, following similar moves by Western states.

UN observers have verified what appears to have been another multiple killing.

Thirteen bodies were found in al-Sukar, east of the city of Deir al-Zour, with their hands tied behind their backs and signs that some had been shot in the head from close range.

Maj Gen Robert Mood, head of the UN observer mission which recently deployed in Syria, said he was "deeply disturbed by this appalling and inexcusable act".

Thousands of people, perhaps as many as 15,000, have been killed since the revolt against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad began in March of last year.

Expulsions 'counterproductive'

China and Russia, which both wield a veto at the UN Security Council, have blocked two previous resolutions calling for tougher action on Damascus.

On Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande said military intervention authorised by the Security Council had not yet been ruled out.

Kofi Annan: "Syrian people do not want their future to be one of bloodshed and division"
The US state department expressed hope that the events in Houla might prove a "turning point in Russian thinking".

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said: "We have always said that we are categorically against any outside interference in the Syrian conflict because this will only exacerbate the situation for both Syria and the region as a whole."

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the expulsion of Syrian diplomats from leading Western states seemed to be "counterproductive". "After all, vital [diplomatic] channels... end up being closed," it added.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry reiterated Beijing's opposition to military intervention in Syria or forced "regime change".

Syria's main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, said Russia had chosen "to join ranks with the Syrian regime and to provide it with political cover", AFP news agency reports.

Turkey's move goes further than Tuesday's co-ordinated action by other states, which restricted their expulsions to the most senior staff. However, Syrian consular staff in Istanbul will remain.

In apparent retaliation for the diplomatic expulsions, Syria gave the Dutch charge d'affaires - one of the few remaining top-level Western diplomatic representatives in Damascus - 72 hours to leave.

In another development, Syria's honorary consul in California, Hazem Chehabi, resigned, saying he could not continue in his post after the "barbaric" massacre in Houla.

One of the opposition organisations monitoring the violence, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported 39 new deaths in attacks across Syria on Wednesday. The figure, quoted by AFP news agency, included 15 government soldiers.

Children and women

Troops, tanks and artillery were all supposed to have been withdrawn to barracks in April as the first step on the ground under six-point peace plan of UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

Continue reading the main story
Taldou, Houla region

The region of Houla, in the west of Syria, comprises several villages and small towns
The village of Taldou lies around 2km south-west of the main town, also called Houla
The area is in the province of Homs, which has seen heavy fighting in recent months
Houla's villages are predominantly Sunni Muslim, but the region is ringed by a number of Alawite villages - the sect of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad
Houla: How a massacre unfolded
Press split on Syria mass killing
Timeline: Syria's massacres

But it simply has not happened, says the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon.

Amid the reports of continuing violence, it appears Mr Annan's talks with President Bashar al-Assad and opposition figures in Damascus on Tuesday have had no immediate impact on the ground.

Mr Annan's deputy, Jean-Marie Guehenno, is due to report to the UN Security Council on Wednesday on the talks with Mr Assad.

Forty-nine children and 34 women were among those killed in Houla last Friday and Saturday.

Witnesses have told the UN the vast majority of killings were committed by pro-government shabiha militiamen.

The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Syria on Friday looking into the killings, officials said

May 30, 8:10 PM EDT


11-year-old played dead to survive Syria massacre

By BASSEM MROUE and ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY
Associated Press


AP Photo/Anonymous

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BEIRUT (AP) -- When the gunmen began to slaughter his family, 11-year-old Ali el-Sayed says he fell to the floor of his home, soaking his clothes with his brother's blood to fool the killers into thinking he was already dead.

The Syrian boy tried to stop himself from trembling, even as the gunmen, with long beards and shaved heads, killed his parents and all four of his siblings, one by one.

The youngest to die was Ali's brother, 6-year-old Nader. His small body bore two bullet holes - one in his head, another in his back.

"I put my brother's blood all over me and acted like I was dead," Ali told The Associated Press over Skype on Wednesday, his raspy voice steady and matter-of-fact, five days after the killing spree that left him both an orphan and an only child.

Ali is one of the few survivors of a weekend massacre in Houla, a collection of poor farming villages and olive groves in Syria's central Homs province. More than 100 people were killed, many of them women and children who were shot or stabbed in their houses.

The killings brought immediate, worldwide condemnation of President Bashar Assad, who has unleashed a violent crackdown on an uprising that began in March 2011. Activists say as many as 13,000 people have been killed since the revolt began.

U.N. investigators and witnesses blame at least some of the Houla killings on shadowy gunmen known as shabiha who operate on behalf of Assad's government.

Recruited from the ranks of Assad's Alawite religious community, the militiamen enable the government to distance itself from direct responsibility for the execution-style killings, torture and revenge attacks that have become hallmarks of the shabiha.

In many ways, the shabiha are more terrifying than the army and security forces, whose tactics include shelling residential neighborhoods and firing on protesters. The swaggering gunmen are deployed specifically to brutalize and intimidate Assad's opponents.

Activists who helped collect the dead in the aftermath of the Houla massacre described dismembered bodies in the streets, and row upon row of corpses shrouded in blankets.

"When we arrived on the scene we started seeing the scale of the massacre," said Ahmad al-Qassem, a 35-year-old activist. "I saw a kid with his brains spilling out, another child who was no more than 1 year old who was stabbed in the head. The smell of death was overpowering."

The regime denies any responsibility for the Houla killings, blaming them on terrorists. And even if the shabiha are responsible for the killings, there is no clear evidence that the regime directly ordered the massacre in a country spiraling toward civil war.

As witness accounts begin to leak out, it remains to be seen what, exactly, prompted the massacre. Although the Syrian uprising has been among the deadliest of the Arab Spring, the killings in Houla stand out for their sheer brutality and ruthlessness.

According to the U.N., which is investigating the attack, most of the victims were shot at close range, as were Ali's parents and siblings. The attackers appeared to be targeting the most vulnerable people, such as children and the elderly, to terrorize the population.

This type of massacre - even more than the shelling and mortar attacks that have become daily occurrences in the uprising - is a sign of a new level of violence. By most accounts, the gunmen descended on Houla from an arc of nearby villages, making the deaths all the more horrifying because the victims could have known their attackers.

According to activists in the area, the massacre came after the army pounded the villages with artillery and clashed with local rebels following anti-regime protests. Several demonstrators were killed, and the rebels were forced to withdraw. The pro-regime gunmen later stormed in, doing the bulk of the killing.

Syrian activist Maysara Hilaoui said he was at home when the massacre in Houla began. He said there were two waves of violence, one starting at 5 p.m. Friday and a second at 4 a.m. Saturday.

"The shabiha took advantage of the withdrawal of rebel fighters," he said. "They started entering homes and killing the young as well as the old."

Ali, the 11-year-old, said his mother began weeping the moment about 11 gunmen entered the family home in the middle of the night. The men led Ali's father and oldest brother outside.

"My mother started screaming 'Why did you take them? Why did you take them?'" Ali said.

Soon afterward, he said, the gunmen killed Ali's entire family.

As Ali huddled with his youngest siblings, a man in civilian clothes took Ali's mother to the bedroom and shot her five times in the head and neck.

"Then he left the bedroom. He used his flashlight to see in front of him," Ali said. "When he saw my sister Rasha, he shot her in the head while she was in the hallway."

Ali had been hiding near his brothers Nader, 6, and Aden, 8. The gunmen shot both of them, killing them instantly. He then fired at Ali but missed.

"I was terrified," Ali said, speaking from Houla, where relatives have taken him in. "My whole body was trembling."

Ali is among the few survivors of the massacre, although it was impossible to independently corroborate his story. The AP contacted him through anti-regime activists in Houla who arranged for an interview with the child over Skype.

The violence had haunting sectarian overtones, according to witness accounts. The victims lived in the Houla area's Sunni Muslim villages, but the shabiha forces came from a nearby area populated by Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Most shabiha belong to the Alawite sect - like the Assad family and the ruling elite. This ensures the loyalty of the gunmen to the regime, because they fear they would be persecuted if the Sunni majority gains the upper hand.

Sunnis make up most of Syria's 22 million people, as well as the backbone of the opposition. The opposition insists the movement is entirely secular.

It was not possible to reach residents of the Alawite villages on Wednesday. Communications with much of the area have been cut off, and many residents have fled.

Al-Qassem, the activist who helped gather corpses in Houla, said the uprising has unleashed deep tensions between Sunnis and Alawites.

"Of course the regime worked hard to create an atmosphere of fear among Alawites," said al-Qassem, who is from the Houla area, although not one of the villages that came under attack over the weekend. "There is a deep-seated hatred. The regime has given Alawites the illusion that the end of the regime will spell the end of their villages and lives."

He said the army has been pouring weapons into the Alawite areas.

"Every house in each of those Alawite villages has automatic rifles. The army has armed these villages, each home according to the number of people who live there," he said, "whereas in Houla, which has a population of 120,000, you can only find 500 0r 600 armed people. There is an imbalance."

Days after the attack, many victims remain missing.

Ali can describe the attack on his family. But al-Qassem said the full story of the massacre may never emerge.

"There are no eyewitnesses of the massacre," he said. "The eyewitnesses are all dead."

---

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this report.

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31 May 2012 Last updated at 01:26 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) has given the government of President Bashar al-Assad a 48-hour deadline to observe a UN ceasefire plan.

The FSA's Colonel Qassim Saadeddine said if there was no response by Friday lunchtime the FSA would consider itself "no longer bound by the.. peace plan".

The plan calls on government forces to withdraw to barracks.

On Wednesday, UN observers confirmed the discovery of 13 shooting victims near the city of Deir el-Zour.

Col Saadeddine said in a video published online that the government must "implement an immediate ceasefire, withdraw its troops, tanks and artillery from Syrian cities and villages".

US congressman Keith Ellison tells BBC the international community has to act on Syria
"It should also allow immediate humanitarian aid to all affected areas and free all detainees... The regime should also enter into a real and serious negotiation through the United Nations to hand over power to the Syrian people," he went on.

All of these are provisions of the peace plan put forward by UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.

The FSA is poorly armed and no match for the heavy weapons and tanks of the regime forces, our correspondent says.

But the UN has confirmed that the FSA continues to control significant parts of many towns and cities, as well as much of the countryside in some areas, he adds.

Further escalation

Speaking after a closed meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said a further escalation of the conflict in Syria is the likeliest scenario now, with it also spreading to other countries in the region.

"Members of this council and members of the international community are left with the option only of having to consider whether they're prepared to take actions outside of the Annan plan and the authority of this council," Ms Rice said.

Continue reading the main story
Taldou, Houla region

The region of Houla, in the west of Syria, comprises several villages and small towns
The village of Taldou lies around 2km south-west of the main town, also called Houla
The area is in the province of Homs, which has seen heavy fighting in recent months
Houla's villages are predominantly Sunni Muslim, but the region is ringed by a number of Alawite villages - the sect of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad
Satellite clues to Houla massacre
Houla: How a massacre unfolded
Timeline: Syria's massacres

Her British counterpart, Mark Lyall-Grant, said that a third element, including jihadists, was now active in Syria. He called them "spoilers".

Hopes of a new initiative over Syria have at the council have been dented by Russia and China.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Moscow was "categorically against any outside interference in the Syrian conflict" because it would "only exacerbate the situation for both Syria and the region as a whole".

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry reiterated Beijing's opposition to military intervention in Syria or forced "regime change".

Russia's foreign ministry added in a statement that the co-ordinated series of expulsions of Syrian diplomats from Western countries in response to the killing of 108 people in Houla last week was "counterproductive".

Turkey is also expelling all Syrian diplomatic staff from Ankara, but consular staff in Istanbul will remain.

In another development, Syria's honorary consul in California, Hazem Chehabi, resigned, saying he could not continue in his post after the "barbaric" massacre in Houla.

"The president has to be responsible for the actions of his own government. Either you're committing those atrocities, and therefore you're guilty, or you're not preventing them from happening," Mr Chehabi told National Public Radio.

'Appalling and inexcusable'

The UN confirmed on Wednesday the discovery of 13 men's bodies near the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, with their hands tied behind their backs, some apparently shot in the head.

UN mission chief Maj Gen Robert Mood said he was "deeply disturbed" by the "appalling and inexcusable act".

Footage shows the bodies of men with their hands bound
Amid the reports of continuing violence, it appears Mr Annan's talks with President Bashar al-Assad and opposition figures in Damascus on Tuesday have had no immediate impact on the ground.

The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Syria on Friday looking into the killings, officials said.

One of the organisations monitoring the violence, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said 65 "martyrs" had died in incidents across Syria on Wednesday.

As many as 15,000 people have been killed since the revolt against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad began in March of last year.

1 June 2012 Last updated at 03:05 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

A Syrian investigation into the Houla massacre has blamed the atrocities on rebels trying to provoke international intervention.

The official in charge of the inquiry categorically denied any government role in last week's killings.

Activists say Syrian troops or pro-government militia were behind the deaths of more than 100 people - many of them children.

The US ambassador to the UN called the Syrian account "a blatant lie".

"There is no factual evidence, including that provided by the UN observers that would substantiate that rendition of events," Susan Rice said.

UN observers have said government forces were active in the area at the time.

General Qassem Jamal Suleiman, who headed the Syrian government's commission of inquiry into the massacre, said hundreds of rebel gunmen carried out the slaughter after launching a co-ordinated attack on five security checkpoints.

He told a news conference that the aim had been to implicate the government and to ignite sectarian strife in Syria.

"Government forces did not enter the area where the massacre occurred, not before the massacre and not after it," he said.

He said the victims had been families "who refused to oppose the government and were at odds with the armed groups".

"The aim of these armed groups is to bring foreign military intervention against the country in any form and way," he added.

Emergency talks

The killings in Houla triggered worldwide condemnation and led many Western powers to expel Syrian diplomats.

UN observers said some of the victims were killed by shell fire but most appeared to have been shot or stabbed at close range. The dead included 49 children and 34 women.

The UN Human Rights Council - the world's leading human rights body - is due to hold an emergency meeting on Syria on Friday at which it is expected to condemn the violence in Houla.

Syria has said special prayers for the victims will be held at mosques across the country on Friday.

The killings in Houla continue to inspire anti-regime protests, like this one in Cairo
A draft resolution, backed by the EU, condemns what it calls "the wanton killings of civilians... by pro-regime elements", and demands that Syria allow human rights investigators and aid agencies into the country immediately.

About 300 UN observers are currently in Syria as part of a six-point peace plan brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

A key element of the plan is a ceasefire supposed to have gone into effect on 12 April. However, reports of violence and deaths have since continued daily.

The BBC's Paul Wood, who was recently in Syria, says the ceasefire exists in name only.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticised Russia's policy toward its ally Syria, saying it was contributing towards a potential civil war.

Russia and China have both renewed their opposition to tougher UN Security Council action against Syria.

Mrs Clinton said the case for military intervention was growing stronger every day.

"[The Russians] are telling me they don't want to see a civil war. I have been telling them their policy is going to help to contribute to a civil war," she told an audience in Copenhagen.

On Friday, Ms Rice also criticised Moscow over reports from human rights groups and Western diplomats that a Russian ship had recently delivered weapons to Syria.

Activists say as many as 15,000 people have been killed since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, although the government disputes the figures.

1 June 2012 Last updated at 17:28 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

The UN Human Rights Council has called for an investigation into the killing of more than 100 civilians at Houla, and condemned Syria for the massacre.

The forum passed the resolution with a big majority and wants investigators to identify the perpetrators.

Evidence could potentially be used in future criminal prosecutions.

Earlier the UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said the killings in Houla may amount to crimes against humanity.

She urged the international community to "make all efforts to end impunity" and "ensure accountability for perpetrators" of such "atrocities".

Meanwhile opposition activists said there had been another mass killing of civilians by pro-government militiamen.

Thirteen factory workers were forced off a bus and executed by "shabiha" - the name given to these armed regime supporters - on Thursday in al-Buwaida al-Sharqiya, near the western town of Qusair, they said.

Several videos posted online showed bodies with severe wounds to the head and stomach, consistent with being shot at close range.

The activists' account cannot be independently verified, but twice in the past week UN observers on the ground have corroborated similar claims.

Individuals 'criminally liable'

The UN Human Rights Council, the world's top human rights body, met on Friday in emergency session - the fourth time it has done so to discuss Syria since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

A government investigation into the Houla massacre blamed armed rebels
In the vote, 41 members voted in favour of the US backed resolution condemning Syria, while Russia, China and Cuba voted against it. Two other countries abstained and one was absent.

The resolution also specifies that there should be an "international, transparent, independent and prompt investigation" into what happened and echoes calls from Navi Pillay for the UN Security Council to consider referring Syria to the International Criminal Court.

Residents of the village of Taldou, in Houla, said militiamen had been sent in early on Saturday after the Syrian army unleashed a barrage of heavy weapons late on Friday in response to a local anti-government protest.

Ms Pillay's office reported on Tuesday that UN investigators had found most of the 108 victims had been shot at close range or stabbed. No more than 20 had been killed by tank and artillery fire, it added.

Continue reading the main story
Houla massacre

Residents of Taldou village in the Houla region say that after an anti-government protest on 25 May, the army began an 18-hour bombardment
Some accounts say rebel fighters attacked the military position from where shellfire was coming
Unconfirmed reports say pro-government shabiha militia entered Taldou, killing people at home, shooting them in the head or cutting their throats
UN observers say at least 108 people died, including 49 children and 34 women. No more than 20 appeared to have been killed by shellfire
A government investigation blames armed groups seeking to trigger foreign military intervention
Satellite clues to Houla massacre
Houla: How a massacre unfolded
Timeline: Syria's massacres

"These acts may amount to crimes against humanity and other international crimes, and may be indicative of a pattern of widespread or systematic attacks against civilian populations that have been perpetrated with impunity," Ms Pillay said, in a speech to the council read out by a representative.

She called on the council to "ensure accountability for perpetrators" and urged the Syrian government to protect civilians.

Those who ordered attacks were "individually criminally liable", Ms Pillay said.

The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, said he was frustrated at the continued violence despite the acceptance by all sides of his six-point peace plan, under which a ceasefire came into force in April.

On Thursday, a Syrian government investigation into the Houla massacre blamed armed rebel groups seeking to trigger foreign military intervention.

The US permanent representative to the UN, Susan Rice, dismissed the finding as a "blatant lie".

Russia and China oppose the move, as does the US, which believes only the Security Council should make such a move, our correspondent adds.

Syria is not a state party to the ICC. The court therefore has no jurisdiction to indict its citizens without a Security Council referral.

Syria's representative to the Human Rights Council attacked the resolution's sponsors, among them Turkey and Qatar, saying they bore responsibility for some of the deaths, because, he claimed, they had been supplying weapons to rebel groups.

"No rational person could believe what is being said by some of the sponsors of this session... it is truly despicable," Faisal al-Hamwi said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was not supporting any side in the conflict. And he denied that Russia was supplying Syria with arms "which can be used in a civilian conflict".

Russia has blocked Security Council action against Syria's government.

Earlier this week, Western diplomats and a human rights organisation reported that a Russian ship carrying arms docked at the Syrian port of Tartus.

Speaking in Oslo on Friday the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said she did not believe that Russia was neutral.

"We know there has been a very consistent arms trade, even during the past year, coming from Russia to Syria. We also believe the continuous supply of arms from Russia has strengthened the Assad regime," she told a news conference.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague is meeting representatives of the Syrian opposition in Turkey.

Mr Hague told the BBC that the situation was so grave and deteriorating so rapidly that all options were still on the table.

The BBC's Richard Galpin reports on the Tripoli clashes
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Syrian divisions reflected closely in Lebanon
Five killed in Lebanon violence

At least nine people have been killed and more than 20 hurt in the Lebanese port of Tripoli, in clashes linked to unrest across the border in Syria.

Supporters and opponents of the uprising against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad clashed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Tensions in the northern port city have mounted since Syria's uprising began.

Recent months have seen increased clashes between armed Alawite groups and Sunni fighters in the city.

Mr Assad is Alawite, while the uprising against him Sunni-led.

In Syria itself, opposition activists reported yet more violence. Two civilians were killed - one during an army raid in the capital, Damascus, and another by gunfire in the city of Homs.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said rebels had killed six soldiers in the southern province of Deraa and at least eight others in clashes on the outskirts of Damascus.

'Targeted'

Residents of Tripoli described smoke billowing from buildings and the army was deployed onto the streets of affected areas to quell the violence.

"We are being targeted because we support the Syrian people," one Sunni gunman told Associated Press Television. "We are with you [Syrian people] and will not abandon you," he added.

Fighting was concentrated in Tripoli's Bab al-Tebbaneh district, a mostly Sunni Muslim community, and the pro-Damascus Alawite Jabal Mohsen neighbourhood.

Although there have been on-off clashes between gunmen in neighbouring Tripoli districts, Saturday's death toll is believed to be the highest in a single day.

On 14 May five people were killed in similar clashes after a Sunni cleric, Shadi al-Moulawi, was arrested on terrorism charges. His supporters say he was held because he helped Syrian refugees.

In February, two died when supporters and opponents of Mr Assad clashed.

Community leaders in Lebanon have repeatedly warned of the possibility that the violence in Syria would spill over the border. Lebanon is already hosting thousands of Syrian refugees.

Last month, 11 Lebanese Shia Muslim pilgrims were abducted, reportedly by a Sunni rebel splinter group, in Syria.

On Friday, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, called for their release.

Meanwhile, UN peace envoy Kofi Annan - in Doha for a meeting with Arab League members - warned that Syria was slipping closer to all-out war and said the conflict there was developing an alarming sectarian dimension.

"The spectre of all-out civil war, with a worrying sectarian dimension, grows by the day," Mr Annan said.

He added that the crisis was now at "tipping point", following the massacre at Houla, in which 108 people were killed, many of them women and children.

SAW ABOVE ON SKY NEWS,WONDER IF LEBANON AND THEN WEST WILL INTERVENE IF FIGHTING SPREADS TO LEBANON.

Badboy wrote:SAW ABOVE ON SKY NEWS,WONDER IF LEBANON AND THEN WEST WILL INTERVENE IF FIGHTING SPREADS TO LEBANON.

That's a big problem Badboy because so many Syrians are fleeing across the border. The West doesn't want to get involved because we have enough
problems with Aghanistan , Pakistan etc. as long as Russia keeps arming Syria this carnage will continue. I,m sure the Rebels are being armed as well, but only with guns, not Tanks and Mortar.

(CNN) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addressed his country and the newly-elected People's Assembly on Sunday, decrying what he called the "terrorists" and "conspiracy" against Syria.

"At this time, we are facing a war from abroad," al-Assad said in his first public speech since January. "Dealing with it is different from dealing with people from inside."

His remarks stand in stark contrast to what the opposition and many world leaders have said for more than a year -- that al-Assad's forces, not external "terrorists," are behind a sustained slaughter stemming from their crackdown on dissidents.

"Standing up against the conspiracy is not easy, but we will overcome the obstacles," al-Assad said. "We have duties towards our people. Adopting reform and reinforcing its principles is not an easy mission."

The speech came a day after U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan said Syria is "at a turning point" and that "the specter of all-out civil war, with a worry sectarian dimension, grows by the day."

As Annan's U.N.-backed peace plan continued to founder in Syria, Arab leaders signaled the need for more robust measures to end the violence there.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani said Annan's peace initiative should be placed under Chapter VII of the U.N. charter, Qatar's news agency reported. Such a move would allow the U.N. Security Council to take action that could include the use of military force.

He spoke Saturday before Arab League foreign ministers in Doha, Qatar, more than a week after a massacre in the town of Houla sparked global outrage.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Araby said "more audacious steps are needed" in Syria.

"We should have a timeline for the peace plan -- this is a must," el-Araby said. "The international community needs to take immediate action after the massacre in Houla and take all necessary measures in order to protect the Syrian civilians."

The crisis in Syria began nearly 15 months ago, when a tough government crackdown on protesters spiraled out of control and spawned a national anti-government uprising. The United Nations for months has said more than 9,000 people have died in Syria. But death counts from opposition groups range from more than 12,000 to more than 14,000. Tens of thousands have been displaced.

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 33 civilians and 61 government forces were killed across Syria on Saturday, and two rebel soldiers died.

CNN cannot independently confirm reports of casualties or violence from Syria because the government limits access by foreign journalists.

Over the border in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, fighting between pro- and anti-Syrian regime gunmen on Saturday left 12 dead and approximately 50 injured, according to the state-run National News Agency.

The sectarian violence in Tripoli mirrors the tensions in Syria between Sunnis, who make up the majority of the Syrian opposition, and Alawites, who are dominant in al-Assad's government.

Annan made reference Saturday to such flare-ups in neighboring countries, after many Syrian civilians have fled to escape violence.

Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general, said he recently urged al-Assad "to radically change his military posture," saying the government has the prime responsibility to halt the violence.

Annan said he plans to brief the U.N. General Assembly and U.N. Security Council about the crisis on Thursday.

CNN's Saad Abedine, Holly Yan, Joe Sterling and Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report.

EU officials are expected to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to take a stronger line on the crisis in Syria during a summit in St Petersburg.

EU member states want Russia to put pressure on its ally to withdraw heavy weapons from cities and comply fully with UN envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan.

Russia and China are also resisting US and European calls to condemn President Bashar al-Assad and seek his removal.

On Sunday, Mr Assad denied his forces had any role in the Houla massacre.

In a televised address, President Assad told parliament the killing of more than 108 people in their homes, including 49 children, was an "ugly crime" that even "monsters" would not carry out.

Witnesses have blamed pro-government militiamen for the massacre, which has triggered international condemnation and led to several countries expelling Syrian diplomats in protest.

Mr Assad said the only way to resolve the crisis was through political dialogue, and that "foreign meddling" was to blame for Syria's divisions.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
Russia's role is crucial for the success of Annan's plan”
End Quote
Catherine Ashton

EU foreign policy chief

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton are among those attending Monday's summit.

On Sunday, Mr Putin invited the EU leaders for dinner ahead of the talks at a lavish estate on the outskirts of the city.

European diplomats regard the meeting as a chance to renew ties with Mr Putin since his return to the presidency earlier this month.

The leaders are also expected to discuss trade and Iran's controversial nuclear programme. Russia will also be looking to speed up moves towards visa free travel in Europe.

But correspondents say Syria is likely to dominate the agenda.

Political transition

"We need to make sure that Russia is using fully its leverage in convincing the [Assad] regime to implement [the peace plan]," an EU official quoted by the Reuters news agency said.

"The Russian side has certainly not been very helpful in finding solutions in terms of a political way out."

President Assad blamed outside forces for causing divisions in his country
Moscow insists it is not protecting Mr Assad but says his removal cannot be a precondition for political dialogue.

Baroness Ashton, who met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before Sunday's dinner, said in a statement: "Russia's role is crucial for the success of Annan's plan."

She said the EU wanted to "work closely with Russia to find a way to end the violence".

The statement added that Baroness Ashton had spoken to Mr Annan by telephone on Sunday and they had agreed that the crisis was at "a critical point".

Analysts say pressure is growing on Moscow to concede that the initiative is stalled and to promote a compromise in which President Assad stands down to allow a transition of power.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that she had "made it very clear" to Mr Lavrov in a telephone conversation that the focus was shifting to a political transition.

"Assad's departure does not have to be a precondition, but it should be an outcome so the people of Syria have a chance to express themselves," she said during a visit to Stockholm.

The BBC's Steven Rosenberg in Moscow says that although the summit is not expected to produce any major breakthrough in relations between Russia and the EU, it is still important.

EU leaders will be able to reacquainted themselves with Vladimir Putin and it is also a chance to gauge what kind of relationship Moscow and Brussels are likely to have during his six-year presidency, our correspondent adds.

REBELS CLAIM TO HAVE KILLED OVER 100 GOVERNMENT SOLDIERS SINCE FRIDAY.
FIGHTING IS REPORTED IN IDLIB/LATAKIA AND HOMS PROVINCE.
ALSO SOLDIERS KILLED IN DEIR-EZ-ZOYR.
RELATIVES OF SHIA PILGRIMS KIDNAPPED IN SYRIA HAVE THREATENED TO ATTACK RELATIVES OF FSA MEMBERS IN LEBANON.

A report by Tim Marshall sky News .

He visited El Quiber where 78 men, women and children were killed yesterday and said the village is deserted. The bodies have been wrapped in cloth
but bloodies, huge holes in the Walls suggest artillery fire by Military, walls are blood spattered and carpets soaked in blood . He said the scenes were horrific but it cannot be proved conclusively that the Syrian Army was involved although soldiers did tell the residents before they left to bury the dead.

Hilary Clinton accept now that the Pact is in shreds and say it is a civil war now. Russia will not budge on it's stance of non-interference but it is hoped that they will offer Assad shelter in Russia. It is reported that Assad has already moved $6 million out of Syria into Russian Bank Accounts.


Breaking News. other bomb has exploded in Damascus.

Counting the victims an Syria avoid civil war?

The Syrian army has killed at least 17 people, including women, during fighting in the southern restive town of Deraa, activists say.

They say the shelling began late on Friday and continued overnight.

There have been frequent clashes between troops and rebels in Deraa, where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began last year.

Meanwhile UN monitors continue their investigation into an alleged massacre at Qubair, after visiting the site.

People in the area told the UN team that everyone in the village near Hama "had died except for a few", UN spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh told the BBC.

Continue reading the main story
At the scene

Paul Danahar

BBC News, Qubair

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Men walked into this village on Wednesday morning with the intention of killing everything that moved. But butchering the families that lived in this tiny Sunni Muslim community was not enough to quench their bloodlust. So the animals died too, their carcasses left to rot in the summer sun.

If this was an act of mindless violence the fact that the bodies of the people had been removed suggested a very clear-headed attempt to hide the truth.

The timing of this attack, as international envoy Kofi Annan went to the UN to report on his findings so far, could not have been worse for the regime.

That suggests that some of the militias the government has been accused of creating have spiralled beyond their day-to-day command and control, leaving the army to try to clean up their mess in Qubair before it was met by the world's gaze.

Read Paul's thoughts in full

She said that the monitors had not yet been able to establish the number of victims. Activists say about 80 people were killed.

The BBC's Paul Danahar, who accompanied the observers to the village on Friday, said the smell of burnt flesh still hung heavy on the air.

Activists said government forces had removed many of the bodies. It is unclear what happened to those of dozens of reported victims.

The opposition blamed the Qubair massacre on militias allied to President Assad while the government accused "terrorists" of killing civilians.

Condemning Wednesday's massacre earlier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned of an imminent danger of civil war. International peace envoy, Kofi Annan, has said his six-point peace plan is not being implemented.

'Unacceptable'

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was growing increasingly concerned by the situation in Syria, but that it "will not sanction the use of force at the United Nations Security Council".

"If the Syrians agree [about President Assad's departure] between each other, we will only be happy to support such a solution," Mr Lavrov told a news conference.

"But we believe it is unacceptable to impose the conditions for such a dialogue from outside."

In Turkey, the main coalition of Syria's opposition groups - the Syrian National Council (SNC) - was set to elect a new leader later on Saturday, some three weeks after the resignation of its Paris-based president, Burhan Ghalioun.

The grouping has been plagued by divisions since its inception in September.

Reports quoting unnamed sources in the SNC said the aim was to pick a "consensus" candidate who would be acceptable to Islamists, liberals and nationalists within the coalition.

Midnight bombing

The shelling at Deraa, in the far south near the Jordanian border, began shortly after night-time prayers on Friday, according to residents.

One of them - who identified himself as Mazen - told the BBC: "After midnight the regime forces started directly to use mortars against the neighbourhood in Deraa Balad, an area in the south of Deraa City, which resulted in many dead people."

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights says most of those killed were women.


Despite frequent attempts to subdue Deraa, the city has never really been completely tamed by government forces and the rebel Free Syrian Army is active in and around the city, says the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon.

The Observatory says 44 civilians were killed by security forces across Syria on Friday - more than half of them in Damascus districts and in Homs province.

It also says about 25 soldiers were killed in five provinces.

The UN says at least 9,000 people have died since pro-democracy protests began in March 2011.

The Syrian government has signed Mr Annan's six-point peace plan, but says it is fighting foreign-backed rebels.-

===================

Russia has said the situation in Syria is very serious and may spill over to other Countries, but still refuses to countenance any interference by U.N. Troops.

Aftermath of an explosion in Damascus
1:37pm UK, Sunday June 10, 2012

Tim Marshall, foreign affairs editor, in Damascus

An estimated 600 Syrian Free Army fighters simultaneously attacked Government targets from five directions around the capital, Sky News has learned.
During the operation, on Friday night, a bus carrying Russian oil workers was hit and rocket propelled grenades were fired at a building housing them.

A civilian Syrian woman is said to have been killed in the attack on the building.

From information given to Sky News by people living in some of the districts it appears the attacks were co-ordinated.

They began at 1pm and continued until 5pm. After a two-hour lull the fighting began again in all areas at 7pm and continued until around midnight.


An electricity power station was hit as the attacks took place in Daria, Mleha, Ghorba, Kfe Sosa and in the Mezzah area closer to the city centre.

Our sources say that many of the fighters, some wearing uniforms, were captured or killed.

We don't know if there were casualties on the government side and the authorities here are not speaking on the record about the incident.

One source said "several Russian oil experts" died and others were injured but there is no confirmation of this.

Russian fatalities have not been reported by either the Syrian nor Russia media.

Eyewitnesses say they saw ambulances leaving the scene but no one could confirm if Russians had indeed died.


It is looking more like Bosnia in the 1990s, being on the edge of a sectarian conflict in which neighbouring villages are attacking and killing each other.

William Hague speaks to Sky News
There are thousands of Russians in Syria, mostly technical experts working here accompanied by their families.

During Friday night's fighting a Sky News team drove past some of the areas in North Damascus which were under attack. A huge plume of smoke rose above one district.

At what is a normally quiet checkpoint dozens of cars were backed up along both lanes of the highway. Extra security was apparent and lorries were being searched with more care than usual.

We were twice diverted from the usual route into town by army roadblocks. I saw one tank taking up position on a flyover bridge and heard two bursts of machine gun fire.

Later, at the TV station, the Sky team saw troops being reinforced at the entrance.

We heard later that the Government believes that Friday's attack was by far the biggest and most organised on the capital so far and were concerned that key facilities in the city centre might also be hit.

Privately they appear satisfied that the security forces were able to deal with the offensive.

The incident is probably a sign of things to come. Both sides will have learned lessons for the next time.
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More money being placed in Russian Banks by Assad I suspect. It is rumoured that if civil War escalates and spills over into a neighbouring Country
Assad will take refuge in Russia .

10 June 2012 Last updated at 09:08 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) has elected a Kurdish activist as its new president.

Abdelbaset Sayda was chosen to replace Burhan Ghalioun, who has held the post since the group was established last September, at a meeting in Istanbul.

Mr Sayda, who lives in exile in Sweden, told Reuters he wanted to reform and restructure the council.

Since its inception, the SNC has been plagued by divisions and complaints from activists that it is ineffectual.

There have also been accusations that the Council, which is an umbrella organisation for opposition groups, is dominated by Islamists and not inclusive enough.

Paris-based academic Mr Ghalioun stepped down last month after mounting criticism of his leadership, particularly that he has failed to build stronger ties with activists inside Syria.

Some hope that Mr Sayda, 56, could attract more Kurds and other Syrian minority groups to join forces with the council.

The new leader told AFP that he believed President Bashar al-Assad's regime was on its "last legs".

"The multiplying massacres and shellings show that it is struggling," he said.

Reforms demanded

He has been given one month to convene another conference where the 300 or so members can sit down and agree to changes to the structure of the SNC.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says that as the Council thrashes out reforms at that meeting, they may well choose to elect another new leader.

Speaking at a news conference in Istanbul after the vote, outgoing president Burhan Ghalioun took the opportunity to urge Russia to change its stance on the Syria situation.

"They need to assert in a clear manner that Bashar al-Assad must go, so that the door to a political resolution can be opened.

"If the Russians are not yet convinced of the need for Mr Assad's departure, it means they have not yet found the way to realise the hopes of our people," he said.

Mr Ghalioun was reacting to comments made by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, who said Russia will continue to oppose attempts by the UN Security Council to sanction military intervention in Syria.

Speaking at the foreign ministry in Moscow, Mr Lavrov said that the issue of foreign intervention in Syria was being posed in a "radical and quite emotional way".

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: ''Russia will not sanction the use of force''
He said foreign powers were encouraging the armed opposition to hope that "the Libyan scenario" could be repeated.

"All this is a dangerous game," he said.

'No alternative' to Annan plan
As efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis continued, activists in Syria said more than 80 civilians had been killed by pro-government forces on Saturday.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they included about 20 killed in the flashpoint southern town of Deraa. The figures cannot be independently verified.

UN monitors in Syria are trying to oversee the implementation of a ceasefire
Both Russia and China have opposed UN Security Council resolutions condemning the Syrian government for continuing violence.

Mr Lavrov acknowledged that Mr Annan's six-point peace plan had begun to "seriously falter" but said Russia saw "no alternative".

He said that Moscow - which has resisted US-led calls for Mr Assad to stand down - was not opposed to his departure, but only against it being imposed on Syria from outside.

"If the Syrians agree (to Mr Assad's departure) we will only be happy to support such a solution," Mr Lavrov said.

He also pressed Moscow's idea of an international conference on Syria that would include Iran - an ally of Damascus.

"To say that Iran doesn't have a place because it is already to blame for everything and it's part of the problem... this is thoughtless to say the least from the point of view of serious diplomacy," he said.

The US has accused Tehran of arming Syrian government forces.

SOLDIER AT A AIR DEFENCE FACILITY HAVE DEFVECTED TO THE REBELS.
ALSO AN ATTACK ON A CABINET MEETING BUILDING IN DAMASCUS.

Counting the victims
Can Syria avoid civil war?

UN monitors have said they are unable to reach the town of Haffa in northern Syria, where rebel positions are being bombarded by government forces.

"The security situation is not safe for them to enter," UN spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh told Reuters.

The UN has warned of an alarming escalation in violence and is urging more international diplomatic action.

The fighting around Haffa comes as the government stands accused of being behind two massacres in the past month.

Earlier, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon had underlined the importance of "unimpeded access" to Haffa, amid reports of a build-up of government forces around the town.

Activists said intense shelling had continued in Haffa while say 10 people had been killed in eastern Deir al-Zour.

"They were at the last checkpoint and the government said 'you can go through', but we deemed it unsafe," Ms Ghosheh said.

'Twist arms'

A spokesman for Kofi Annan said the UN special envoy wanted a new conference to be held soon, but accepted the peace plan was the "only one on the table".

Mr Annan's spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, insisted that the UN special envoy's efforts were "coming together" and that "diplomacy had intensified".

Mr Fawzi said it was hoped a meeting of an international contact group to discuss the status of the six-point peace plan for Syria would take place soon, although the date and list of participants had not been decided.

The UN is pushing for the evacuation of people trapped by shelling in Homs
Mr Fawzi said Mr Annan wanted international powers who had influence in Syria to "twist arms" to "put irrevocable pressure on the parties to implement the plan and stop the killing".

Syrian ally Russia is coming under particular pressure to apply its influence on Damascus.

On Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Iran to discuss Moscow's call for a conference that would involve Tehran - a move strongly opposed by the US.

Meanwhile British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who is visiting Pakistan, said foreign military intervention was not being considered for Syria and that all efforts were being made for a peaceful transition.

"I think we should not think about it in terms of another Libya," he said.

'Situation dire'

The diplomatic moves come against a backdrop of intense violence in Haffa, where troops have been besieging rebels for eight days.

Heavy tanks and helicopter gunships are being used, rebels said, with shells raining down.

One rebel commander from the Free Syrian Army told Reuters: "The situation is dire. Forget the weapons, people need medicine and food. As you know, we're in a state of war in Syria. The army could enter Haffa in minutes if it wanted but it is trying to crush it instead."

The rebels said they had brought civilians to the outskirts to try to evacuate them but those areas were also under fire.

US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said there were fears the Syrian government "may be organising another massacre" in Haffa.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says Syrian state television has been playing recordings of what it says is an intercepted phone conversation between militants, with one of them ordering the rebels to carry out a massacre of civilians at Haffa, film it, and blame the government.


Earlier this month, activists said Syrian government forces killed 108 people in the region of Houla, in Homs province, and 78 people in the village of Qubair, in Hama province.

France said on Tuesday it also feared "new massacres" were being prepared in Syria.

In other reports of violence on Tuesday:

Activists said the army had shelled a night-time protest in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, killing 11 people
In the central city of Homs, an activist told AFP the situation there was "horrific, murderous", with 400 civilians trapped in a school in the Jourat al-Shiah district
Syrian state television said two passenger buses were stopped outside Homs by "armed terrorists" and that an unspecified number of people were abducted
Activists said Hreitan in the northern Aleppo province was subjected to violent army shelling
There is often no means of providing independent verification of reports within Syria.

Separately, a UN report has accused Syrian troops of torturing children and using them as human shields to prevent attacks by opposition forces.

In its report on children and armed conflict the UN said children were being tortured in detention and slaughtered in massacres