Syrian troops, tanks and artillery were all supposed to have been withdrawn to barracks in April
Russia 'categorically against' Syria intervention
Hopes 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.
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
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.
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.
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Today is
Russia & China Leaders are the Problem and not the Russian or Chinese Citizens
The Massacres that are taking place in Syria hurts the hearts of all the citizens of the world. No Citizen in the world would feel anything but empathy for the Syrian Citizens who are being killed daily by either Al-Assad or his military or other entities that want to see turmoil prevail in Syria.
However, one would wonder why the leaders or decision makers of China or Russia would veto any and all United Nations attempt to intervene in Syria on the behalf of the innocent children that are being slaughtered?
It's not the Russian Citizens, who are vetoing the sanctions against Syrian leader Al-Assad, and it's not the Chinese Citizens who are vetoing the sanctions against Syrian leader Al-Assad, it is the elected or selected Russian & Chinese individuals who have been trusted by the Russian & Chinese people to represent their country on the world stage.
I know for a fact that these officials who claim to be voting on the behalf of Russian citizens and Chinese citizens, don't do so with the backing of the citizens of these two countries, these officials vote, do so, based on their small ring of flawed leaders who vote based on their addiction to power and money.
This Syrian Crisis is a direct example of how the citizens around the world are not being represented by our elected officials, as exampled in this case with Syria.
The Syrian people peacefully protested for Al-Assad to step down and allow a democratic government to replace his rule, but, it was Al-Assad who decided to crack down on the citizens, which resulted in beatings, torture and even deaths, during the initial stages of the peaceful protests.
The Leader essentially said "no" to the citizens of his own country. The United Nations eventually voted on sanctions against Al-Assad in an effort to ensure that the citizens of Syria were protected against weapons of mass destructions such as "Tanks & Fighter Aircraft".
After the debacle that the Arab League created in their attempt to intervene with Syria, the veto by Russia & China's selected officials officially removed any possible action of any country in the world to take action against Syria, which simply created another debacle, in that, the U.N.'s own rules, created by selected or elected officials, serves as the shackles bounding any possible action against Al-Assad by any nation.
Thus, citizens of the world stand by and watche the citizens of another country being massacred as our elected or selected officials screw up something that is common sense to citizens. The Citizens of the world would have voted for any act or actions that would help other citizens around the world who are being murdered by their "elected officials".
This Example of a leader refusing to follow the desires of the citizens of a country, and other leaders voting against common sense actions against the leader that refuses to leave the leadership of his nation, delivers a solid case of how our elected or selected leaders, do not act on the behalf of the citizens, but on the behalf of their own thoughts, feelings or desires.
In the U.S., each citizen who is old enough to vote are now being required to provide a valid identification card in order to vote, a rule that is now being forced on citizens of specific states by elected officials who's desire is to stop certain citizens from actually voting. Isn't that wonderful of our "elected officials"?
My Solution to Bad Leadership
No Elected or Selected official for any office around the world should be allowed to hold that position for more than 8 years.
No Elected or Selected official for any office around the world, would be allowed to sit in any other position of power once he/she have served 8 years in any one power position.
This ensures that no elected or selected official is ever in any power position for more than 8 years in his entire life, allowing more citizens to sit in a power position, allowing different perspectives to replace old and hard headed officials who have served to long to continue to maintain crisis between nations for decades.
In My Opinion
ASMFMB
5/30/2012
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