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As "horrified" annan arrives in damascus, will syria's houlamassacre force action on the crisis? by 123wert sdfsf
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As "horrified" annan arrives in damascus, will syria's houlamassacre force action on the crisis? by 123WERT SDFSF
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| Article Posted: 09/16/2013 |
| Article Views: 84 |
| Articles Written: 2217 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR |
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As "horrified" annan arrives in damascus, will syria's houlamassacre force action on the crisis? |
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Updated: May 28, 2011 at 7:15 a.m. EST Syria's 15-month spiral into a broad civil war has seen manymassacres, with many grisly, grainy images of dead children, ofentire families slaughtered standing as alleged evidence. Some haveprompted international condemnation, sometimes in "the strongestpossible terms," others have not. But the latest killings stand out— not least because they happened while U.N. monitors were inthe country, observing a tattered six-week-old cease-fire thatseems to exist only on paper.
The U.N. has verified that 92 people were killed within hours inthe Syrian district of Houla, including at least 32 children, theirmangled corpses laid out on a plastic mat, set apart from dozens ofadult victims. Some of the children were in blood-soaked pajamas;others had their skulls ripped open. They were killed by artilleryand tank shells, the U.N.
said; Syrian activists claim that otherswere butchered with knives. The Syrian opposition blamed PresidentBashar Assad's regime. The government blamed "al-Qaeda-linkedterrorist groups." (PHOTOS: Syria's Year of Chaos) Activists say they relayed urgent pleas from the residents of Houlafor help from about midday Friday, when the assault on theirdistrict began. Some of the activists say they asked U.N.
observersto travel to the area, in the hope that their presence would beenough to protect its residents. The blue berets traveled thefollowing day, on Saturday, in time to count the bodies. The Syrian government denied responsibility for the slaughter.Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said at a pressconference in Damascus on Sunday that the regime's tanks were notin Houla and its heavy weapons were not aimed at the region'sresidents. Instead, he said that heavily armed "terrorists,"complete with mortars and antitank missiles, committed theatrocity.
Syria has been subjected to "a tsunami of lies," he said."We have set up a military and legal committee to investigate," hesaid, adding that "results will emerge within days." International condemnation has been much swifter. "This appallingand brutal crime involving indiscriminate and disproportionate useof force is a flagrant violation of international law and of thecommitments of the Syrian government to cease the use of heavyweapons in population centers and violence in all its forms," U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Kofi Annan, Ban's predecessor andthe joint special envoy for Syria, said in a statement. Annan hassince arrived in Damascus for talks with senior leaders on Monday."I have come to Syria at a critical moment in this crisis," Annansaid as he arrived in Damascus on Monday. "I am personally shockedand horrified by the tragic incident in Houla." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the "atrocity."Even China said it was "deeply shocked" by the "cruel killings."The U.N.
Security Council also held an emergency session on Sunday,after which it said the "outrageous use of force" against civiliansviolated international law. Previous Security Council attempts tocensure Assad's regime have been shot down by Russian and Chinesevetoes. There was a call for another Friends of Syria conference, agroup of Assad's Arab and Western opponents, but previous meetingshave pledged various forms of support that many activists say haveyet to materialize. (PHOTOS: The Victims of Assad) The fact is, despite restrictions on media and aid organizationsoperating in Syria, the world knows what is happening there, itjust doesn't know what to do about it. Will the Houla killingschange anything, or will they be just another bloody footnote in aconflict that has killed an unknown number of people? The U.N.stopped counting Syria's deaths months ago.
NATO has repeatedlysaid it has no plans to intervene in the conflict. The U.N.Secretary-General has admitted that "at this time, we don't haveany Plan B" for Syria. It's hardly reassuring given that Plan A,the six-point Annan initiative, is barely viable. The pockmarked cease-fire was the centerpiece of that plan, agreedto by both sides, which also calls for the release of politicalprisoners, the provision of humanitarian aid via a "daily two-hourhumanitarian pause," the right to demonstrate peacefully, freedomof movement for the press and the start of a Syrian-led politicalprocess to resolve the crisis.
There are no alternatives beingoffered by anyone for this setup, "the only game in town," as ithas often been described. The splintered Syrian opposition can't seem to agree on much,beyond the fact that it wants to see the end of Assad's regime.Still, it has called for foreign intervention along various lines— from the establishment of "humanitarian corridors" or "safezones" to strikes on Assad's heavy weaponry and command-and-controlcenters. Is the international community, collectively beset bydomestic economic woes and reeling from an expensive Libyanintervention, which looks like a cakewalk by comparison, ready toforcefully step in for some Syrians? And if it does, what and whowill replace Assad? (MORE: A Spasm of Violence: How Lebanon Is Threatened by Syria'sRebellion) Both the regime and the opposition have now made it clear that theyare in an all-or-nothing battle. Pro- and anti-Assad views haveincreasingly hardened, the gulf between them widening as thetallies of dead, missing and detained have grown. There is littleroom left for a compromise solution.
When the Syrian uprisingkicked off last year, there were no calls for foreign intervention,no demands for the execution of the President. There were also nocar bombs blowing up in Syrian cities. The situation has becomemore desperate and more sectarian. The rebel Free Syrian Army, thatragtag band of undergunned and overwhelmed defectors and armedcivilians, has said that in the wake of the Houla massacre it willno longer abide by Annan's cease-fire (not that it has kept to itin the first place).
Syrians of all political stripes have grown used to hearinginternational condemnations. They have suffered other massacres.They have witnessed other international observer missions, like theArab League one preceding the blue berets. They came, they saw,they wrote reports, but the only thing that changed has been thebrutality of the conflict — which has gotten worse. Thesituation cannot be more dire. Will Houla mark a turning point? Atleast 92 people were killed.
That much we know. The rest ispolitics. PHOTOS: Escape from Syria. I am an expert from Laundry Products, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as 925 silver findings , moon star pendant.
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