Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister is condemning the latest bloodshed in Syria, calling the violence “very disconcerting because of its depravity.”
John Baird says the international community needs to redouble its efforts to get Syria to agree to an international peace plan mapped out a month ago, or explore other diplomatic solutions.
The shelling attack on Houla, a group of villages northwest of the central city of Homs, killed more than 90 people, including at least 32 children under the age of 10, the head of the U.N. observer team in Syria said.
The attacks sparked outrage from U.S. and other international leaders, and large protests in the suburbs of Syria’s capital of Damascus and its largest city, Aleppo. It also renewed fears of the relevance of a month-old international peace plan that has not stopped almost daily violence.
The U.N. denounced the attacks in a statement that appeared to hold President Bashar Assad’s regime responsible, and the White House called the violence acts of “unspeakable and inhuman brutality.”
“This appalling and brutal crime involving indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is a flagrant violation of international law and of the commitments of the Syrian government to cease the use of heavy weapons in population centres and violence in all its forms,” said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and international envoy Kofi Annan. “Those responsible for perpetrating this crime must be held to account.”
The Syrian government blames “terrorists” – a term it uses to describe the opposition – but a UN observer says inspectors found artillery shells.
Grotesque videos of the young victims have been posted online. The attack has been condemned by international leaders and has sparked large protests in suburban Syria.
Mr. Baird says the number of children feared dead at Houla is “especially reflective of the regime’s utter contempt for humanity and decency.”
He says Canada is calling on all parties to immediately respect a ceasefire, co-operate with UN observers and support the efforts of joint special envoy Kofi Annan to resolve the crisis with the international peace plan.
Mr. Baird says Canada will continue to work with its partners to isolate Bashar al-Assad’s regime and support the Syrian people’s hopes for a better future.
The uprising against Mr. al-Assad has been going on for 14 months. The UN put the death toll weeks ago at more than 9,000. Hundreds have been killed since.