Scenes of burned-outside houses and charred human remains in village where up to 78 human beings were reportedly killed in cold bloodUN monitors on Friday entered for the first age the Syrian village where up to 78 human beings were reportedly killed in cold blood on Wednesday, the latest in a series of atrocities that have underlined the gravity of the escalating crisis.The observers were met with scenes of burned-outside houses, charred human remains and the clear impression that a “terrible crime” had occurred in Mazraat al-Qubair near Hama, according to a BBC correspondent following the UN team. On Thursday the monitors were fired at and their access blocked by Syrian forces.”It is not dense to verify. As soon as you walk into the first house, you are hit by the stench of burnt flesh,” reported Paul Danahar. “You can see that a terrible crime has taken place. Everything has been burnt, houses have been gutted. The most distressing scenes were at the house following door. I walked in and saw brains lying on the floor. There was a tablecloth covered in blood and flesh and someone had tried to mop the blood up by pushing it into the corner, however it seems they had given up since there was so much of it encircling.”In a video clip posted on the internet, a Syrian woman named Lathat calmly described how the hamlet had been attacked by “regime forces and Shabiha” (administration militia) who killed children, including two of her daughters, with knives and axes. “The army came with the Shabiha with a tank,” she said. “May God capture revenge on Bashar al-Assad.” Like much material emanating from Syria, it was impossible to verify independently.Syrian state media have said nine human beings in al-Qubair were killed by “armed terrorist gangs” – official terminology for all opponents of Assad. Damascus similarly denied responsibility for the killing of 108 human beings, including 39 children, in Houla two weeks ago.Opposition sources reported heavy fighting in the Damascus suburb of Kfar Souseh, house to many administration buildings, after a huge anti-regime demonstration on Thursday. Protests were reported across the nation on a day opposition groups dubbed a “Friday of unity between rebels and traders” – symbolising the solidarity that they affirm is needed to bring down the regime. Parts of Homs came under heavy mortar and shellfire, activists said.Film clips posted online also showed demonstrations in Aleppo, Syria’s second megalopolis, and in Deraa, where the uprising started in March 2011. An estimated 15,000 human beings have been killed since then.The Syrian Revolution Common Commission reported a total of 26 dead nationwide. Another opposition collection gave a total of 31. Another film clip from the Idlib area was said to exhibit Syrian soldiers mocking corpses they were moving into a building before blowing it up — apparently to blame the attack on the rebels of the Autonomous Of Charge of charge Syrian Army. Activists said it was filmed on March 21.Diplomatic efforts to tackle Syria meanwhile continued in Washington, where Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, met Kofi Annan, whose six-mark peace plot is in danger of collapsing. Annan, envoy of the UN and Arab League, has admitted that his plot is not being implemented by Assad and warned against allowing “mass killings to become part of everyday reality in Syria”. Annan wants stronger backing from an international contact collection that would comprehend all five permanent members of the UN security council as well as regional powers such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia. However the US and its western partners firmly oppose membership for Iran, a close Syrian ally.In Moscow, a senior US official, Fred Hof, urged Russia to throw its weight behind the element of the plot that would see Assad step down. However Russia, like China, still says it opposes regime alter.As the debate over responses to the crisis continues, the former UK foreign secretary, Lord Owen, has urged Turkey to lead a Nato threat to intervene in Syria as a path of ending the “devastating” impotence of the international community. Owen, foreign secretary between 1977-79, writes in the Twitter: “The challenge is to hammer outside guidelines for a Turkish-led Nato military threat to intervene in Syria to support Kofi Annan’s diplomacy when needed. Russia and the Arab League have key roles as have the US, UK and France however the scale of the humanitarian tragedy in Syria demands speedy solutions.”SyriaUnited NationsMiddle East and North AfricaIan Blackguardian.co.uk © 2012 Twitter News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Employ of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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