Syrian troops have massacred 200 people in Traimseh
US
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she is outraged by
reports of a new massacre in Syria and is demanding that the U.N.
Security Council take action to stop the violence. She also called for
an immediate cease-fire in the area of the massacre so that U.N.
monitors can get there.
Ms. Clinton said in a statement on Friday that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime is deliberately killing innocent civilians as it tries to put down 16 months of unrest and that history will judge the Security Council if it fails to act.“History will judge this council,” she said. “Its members must ask themselves whether continuing to allow the Assad regime to commit unspeakable violence against its own people is the legacy they want to leave.”Although she did not mention them by name, Ms. Clinton’s warning was directed at Russia and China, which have blocked previous U.N. efforts to impose sanctions on Syria.
A day earlier, activists' groups said the Syrian troops have massacred more than 200 people in Traimseh, while the state media said the opposition fighters carried out the carnage in order to frame the Syrian government and draw international condemnation before the forthcoming meeting of the UN Security Council.The carnage has sparked international condemnation.
Kofi Annan, the special joint envoy, said he was shocked by the massacre.
"I am shocked and appalled by news coming out of the village of Traimseh, near Hama, of intense fighting, significant casualties, and the confirmed use of heavy weaponry such as artillery, tanks and helicopters," Annan said in a statement Friday.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on UN member nations to take collective and decisive action to immediately and fully stop the tragedy unfolding in Syria, following reports of mass killings in the country.At least 100 people, including children, were reportedly killed by government forces and militias on Thursday in a village near the central city of Hama. In a statement on Friday, Ban said he is outraged by the mass killings.Ban said he condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the indiscriminate use of heavy artillery and shelling of populated areas, including firing from helicopters.
He added that these acts cast doubt on President Bashar al-Assad's recent commitment to joint special envoy for the Arab League and UN Kofi Annan's peace plan, which Syria had agreed to. UN Security Council must hold a vote to extend the UN observer mission before it expires next Friday.
Efforts to seek concerted action are continuing as council members are divided over how to deal with Syria.
The chief of the UN supervision mission to Syria, Maj- Gen Robert Mood, said here Friday that "from our presence in Hama province we can verify continuous fighting yesterday in the area of Traimseh, which involved mechanized units, indirect fire, as well as helicopters," Mood told reporters in a briefing.
He said the UN Supervision Mission in Syria "stands ready to go in and seek verification of facts if and when there is a credible ceasefire."
Media agencies
Ms. Clinton said in a statement on Friday that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime is deliberately killing innocent civilians as it tries to put down 16 months of unrest and that history will judge the Security Council if it fails to act.“History will judge this council,” she said. “Its members must ask themselves whether continuing to allow the Assad regime to commit unspeakable violence against its own people is the legacy they want to leave.”Although she did not mention them by name, Ms. Clinton’s warning was directed at Russia and China, which have blocked previous U.N. efforts to impose sanctions on Syria.
A day earlier, activists' groups said the Syrian troops have massacred more than 200 people in Traimseh, while the state media said the opposition fighters carried out the carnage in order to frame the Syrian government and draw international condemnation before the forthcoming meeting of the UN Security Council.The carnage has sparked international condemnation.
Kofi Annan, the special joint envoy, said he was shocked by the massacre.
"I am shocked and appalled by news coming out of the village of Traimseh, near Hama, of intense fighting, significant casualties, and the confirmed use of heavy weaponry such as artillery, tanks and helicopters," Annan said in a statement Friday.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on UN member nations to take collective and decisive action to immediately and fully stop the tragedy unfolding in Syria, following reports of mass killings in the country.At least 100 people, including children, were reportedly killed by government forces and militias on Thursday in a village near the central city of Hama. In a statement on Friday, Ban said he is outraged by the mass killings.Ban said he condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the indiscriminate use of heavy artillery and shelling of populated areas, including firing from helicopters.
He added that these acts cast doubt on President Bashar al-Assad's recent commitment to joint special envoy for the Arab League and UN Kofi Annan's peace plan, which Syria had agreed to. UN Security Council must hold a vote to extend the UN observer mission before it expires next Friday.
Efforts to seek concerted action are continuing as council members are divided over how to deal with Syria.
The chief of the UN supervision mission to Syria, Maj- Gen Robert Mood, said here Friday that "from our presence in Hama province we can verify continuous fighting yesterday in the area of Traimseh, which involved mechanized units, indirect fire, as well as helicopters," Mood told reporters in a briefing.
He said the UN Supervision Mission in Syria "stands ready to go in and seek verification of facts if and when there is a credible ceasefire."
Media agencies
Comments