U.N. observers heading to site of Syria attack

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8. United Nations ceasefire in tatters after 92 killed in Syrian violence

Calls for Western military action against Syria intensified on Saturday after grisly footage of the bodies of children killed in fresh violence laid bare the failure of the United Nations-brokered peace plan.


In one of the bloodiest incidents to date in the 15-month long uprising, 92 people were killed after a 12-hour regime assault on Houla, in the central province of Homs.

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Unarmed UN monitors, who had reportedly been prevented from visiting the area on Friday because of the fighting, were reduced to documenting the attack’s horrific aftermath when they finally reached the scene on Saturday afternoon.

Major General Robert Mood, the UN mission chief in Syria, said that of the 92 bodies his staff had counted in Houla, at least 32 were “under the age of 10”. He described it as a “brutal tragedy”.

The bloodshed, which began on Friday and was reported to have continued into the small hours of Saturday morning, was amongst the worst single incidents since the popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 15 months ago. It was also a severe blow to the credibility of the UN-backed peace plan that was supposed to introduce a ceasefire in early April. Critics said it was clear that the plan, backed by 250 UN monitors on the ground, was already in tatters.

more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9292414/United-Nations-ceasefire-in-tatters-after-92-killed-in-Syrian-violence.html