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The UN Security Council onSunday condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the killings ofmore than 100 people in Syria, saying that those responsible forthe massacre should be held accountable. "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongestpossible terms the killings, confirmed by United Nations observers,of dozens of men, women and children and the wounding of hundredsmore in the village of El-Houleh (Houla), near Homs, in attacksthat involved a series of government artillery and tank shellingson a residential neighborhood," said a press statement issued bythe 15-nation Security Council at the end of a closed dooremergency meeting that began here on Sunday afternoon. "The members of the Security Council also condemned the killing ofcivilians by shooting at close range and by severe physical abuse,"the statement said. "The members of the Security Council extendedtheir profound sympathies and sincere condolences to the familiesof the victims, and underscored their grave concern about thesituation of civilians in Syria," the statement said. At the closed door meeting, the head of the United NationsSupervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), Major General Robert Mood,told the council via video-link from Syria that UN observers at thescene now estimated that some 108 people were killed in Houla,Herve Ladsous, the UN under-secretary-general for peacekeepingoperations, told reporters outside the council chamber. He saidthat the observers confirmed from examination of ordnance found onthe spot that artillery and tank shells were fired. Initial reports said that more than 90 people were killed in Houla,near the Syrian city of Homs, on Friday. Syria on Sunday denied the involvement of the government troops inthe deadly carnage in the central village of Houla two days ago,blaming "hundreds of heavily armed gunmen" who also attackedsoldiers in the area for the killings. "Such outrageous use of force against civilian populationconstitutes a violation of applicable international law and of thecommitments of the Syrian government under United Nations SecurityCouncil Resolutions 2042 and 2043 to cease violence in all itsforms, including the cessation of use of heavy weapons inpopulation centers," the statement said. "The members of the Security Council reiterated that all violencein all its forms by all parties must cease," the statement said."Those responsible for acts of violence must be held accountable." "The members of the Security Council requested the secretary-general, with the involvement of UNSMIS, to continue to investigatethese attacks and report the findings to the Security Council," thestatement said. "The members of the Security Council demanded that the governmentof Syria immediately cease the use of heavy weapons in populationcenters and immediately pull back its troops and its heavy weaponsfrom in and around population centers and return them to theirbarracks," the statement said. "The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their strongcommitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorialintegrity of Syria, and to the purposes and principles of theCharter," the statement said. "The members of the Security Council reiterated their full supportto the efforts of the joint special envoy for the implementation ofhis six-point plan in its entirety and requested him to convey inthe clearest terms to the Syrian parties, and in particular theSyrian government, the demands of the Security Council," thestatement said. The six-point plan, proposed by Kofi Annan who is the joint specialenvoy of the UN and Arab League for Syria, calls for the withdrawalof heavy weapons and troops from population centers, a daily haltin fighting for the delivery of humanitarian aid and treatment forthe wounded, as well as talks between the government andopposition. Annan's plan has been widely backed by the international communityand accepted by the Syrian government. Annan, who was former UN secretary-general, is scheduled to fly toDamascus on Monday in a bid to put an early end to the Syriancrisis that has lasted for 14 months. He is expected to brief theSecurity Council on Wednesday. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Annan, in a joint statementissued on Saturday, condemned "in the strongest possible terms thekilling," which they described as "appalling and brutal crime" andthat "those responsible for perpetrating this crime must be held toaccount." On Friday, Ban told the council in his 12-page letter, which wasobtained by Xinhua, that "The overall situation in Syria remainsextremely serious and there has been only small progress on someissues," Ban said, referring to the implementation of the six-pointplan proposed by Annan. "There is a continuing crisis on the ground, characterized byregular violence, deteriorating humanitarian conditions, humanrights violations and continued political confrontation," he said."There continues to be daily violent incidents across the country,leading to a large number of deaths and injuries, albeit at a lowerscale than immediately before 12 April 2012.". I am an expert from sfp-transceivers.com, while we provides the quality product, such as GBIC Transceiver Module , CWDM SFP Transceiver Manufacturer, GBIC Transceiver Module,and more.
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