116 dead in Syria's Houla massacre: UN
by AAP, news.com.auMay 28th 2012
A TOTAL of 116 people have been killed in a massacre in the Syrian town of Houla, the head of the UN mission in Syria, Major General Robert Mood, has told the Security Council.
Another 300 people were injured in the incident, Mr Mood told the Security Council.
The deaths were from "shrapnel" and gunfire at "point-blank" range, he said.
Syrian authorities have denied responsibility for the killings, which have sparked international outrage and prompted the Security Council meeting.
Russia's deputy ambassador to the United Nations also cast doubt on the culpability of Syria's government for the massacre.
"We need to establish whether it was the Syrian authorities," Igor Pankin said at the United Nations. "There are substantial grounds to believe that the majority of those who were killed were either slashed, cut by knives, or executed at point blank distance."
On Saturday, Mr Mood - the head of a UN observer mission deployed under a peace plan brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan - warned of "civil war" after the incident in Houla, which is located in central Homs province.
UN observers had initially counted 92 dead in Houla, 32 of them children.
Mr Mood on Saturday also called on the Syrian government to "cease the use of heavy weapons, and on all parties to cease violence in all its forms".
Original Page: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/dead-in-syrias-houla-massacre-un/story-e6frfku0-1226368878293
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