Massacre in Syria: Arab League terms it crime against humanity

Conflicting US, Russia stands leaves prospects for UN action in doubt

Wednesday March 14, 2012 11:34:31 AM, Agencies

Cairo: Stating that the Syrian regime’s killing of civilians amounts to crimes against humanity, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said Tuesday that it would not be ethical or moral to allow those behind the killings in the cities of Homs and Idlib to get away with their crime and called for an international inquiry.

Syrian opposition activists have claimed that Syrian regime forces have killed scores of civilians, including women and children, in opposition strongholds over the past two days.

State media in Damascus, which often ignore activists’ claims, on Monday confirmed the latest killings in Homs but blamed “armed terrorists,” as they frequently call those behind the yearlong uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime.

At the United Nations, the US and Russia clashed after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to the divided Security Council to speak with one voice and help Syria “pull back from the brink of a deeper catastrophe.”

Washington and Moscow both called for an end to the bloody conflict — but on different terms, leaving prospects for UN action in doubt.

The reports of killings in the battered city of Homs added to concerns that the hundreds of civilian deaths caused by the fighting would be compounded by reprisals against opposition supporters in recaptured towns and neighborhoods.

Fresh from stamping out rebel centers of resistance in Homs, government forces are pressing on with new offensives in other parts of central and northern Syria.

The main Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Council, called for “immediate” Arab and international military intervention, including setting up safe corridors for humanitarian aid and a no-fly zone to protect civilians.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 16 people were killed Sunday night in Homs, while the Local Coordination Committees said 45 were killed. Both groups said children were among the dead.

They accused “shabiha,” gunmen akin to a militia that basically do the government’s bidding and who have played a major role in trying to crush the year-old uprising, of carrying out the killing.

Homs is the Syrian city hardest hit by violence since the uprising began in March last year. Several Homs neighborhoods, including Karm el-Zeytoun, where Sunday’s deaths occurred, were controlled by rebels and retaken by government forces earlier this month.

 

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