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BEIRUT – Syrian President Bashar Assad denied Sunday that his governmenthad anything to do with last week's gruesome Houla massacre, sayingnot even "monsters" would carry out such an ugly crime. In a televised speech to parliament, Assad said his country isfacing a "real war" and he blamed terrorists and extremists for thebloodshed. He expressed horror over last week's massacre in thecentral Houla region, which killed more than 100 people, nearlyhalf of them children. "If we don't feel the pain the pain that squeezes our hearts, as Ifelt it, for the cruel scenes -- especially the children -- then weare not human beings," Assad said in his first comments on themassacre. His last public address was in January. Assad, 46, denies that there is a popular will behind the uprising,saying foreign extremists and terrorists are driving the revolt. His remarks suggest he is still standing his ground, despitewidespread international condemnation over his deadly crackdown ondissent. Although his words reflected many of the same generalpoints of his previous speeches -- blaming terrorists andextremists, vowing to protect national security -- his comments onHoula were widely anticipated. "We have to fight terrorism for the country to heal," Assad saidSunday. "We will not be lenient. We will be forgiving only forthose who renounce terrorism." The opposition and the government have exchanged accusations overthe Houla killings, each blaming the other. U.N. investigators havesaid there are strong suspicions that pro-regime gunmen areresponsible for at least some of the killings. The revolt began last March with mostly peaceful protests, but aferocious government crackdown led many in the opposition to takeup arms. Now, the conflict has morphed into an armed insurgency. "A battle was forced on us, and the result was this bloodshed thatwe are seeing," Assad said. Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000, still has afirm grip on power in Syria some 15 months into a revolt that hastorn at the country's fabric and threatened to undermine stabilityin the Middle East. Activists say as many as 13,000 people have died in the violence.One year after the revolt began, the U.N. put the toll at 9,000,but hundreds more have died since. A cease-fire plan brokered byinternational envoy Kofi Annan is violated by both sides every day.Fears also have risen that the violence could spread and provoke aregional conflagration. A group known as the Free Syrian Army is determined to bring downthe regime by force of arms, targeting military checkpoints andother government sites. A U.N. observer team with nearly 300members has done little to quell the bloodshed. Al-Qaida-style suicide bombings have become increasingly common inSyria, and Western officials say there is little doubt thatIslamist extremists, some associated with the terror network, havemade inroads in Syria as instability has spread. Assad has acknowledged there are genuine calls for reform, althoughthe opposition says he has offered only cosmetic changes that dolittle to change a culture where any whisper of dissent could leadto arrest and torture. In Sunday's speech, Assad ridiculed protesters over their calls forfreedom. "This freedom that they called for has turned into the (human)remains of our sons and this democracy that they talked about isnow drowning in our blood," he said. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Refrigeration Evaporators , Wire Tube Condenser Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Evaporator Tube.
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