The UN Security Council has issued a statement condemning "in the strongest possible terms" the massacre of civilians in the Syrian village of Houla, during which more than 100 people are reported to have been killed.
"The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest possible terms the killings, confirmed by United Nations observers, of dozens of men, women and children and the wounding of hundreds more in the village of Houla, near Homs, in attacks that involved a series of government artillery and tank shellings on a residential neighbourhood," the statement reads "The members of the Security Council also condemned the killing of civilians by shooting at close range and by severe physical abuse."
The statement also chided the Syrian government for violating international laws under UN Security Council resolutions 2042 and 2043. The Security Council members also reiterated that “all violence in all forms by all parties must cease” and that those responsible for it must be held accountable. The statement also asks the Secretary-General and the UNSMIS to continue the investigation of the attacks and to report the findings to the Security Council.
The document also called on the Syrian government to stop using heavy weapons, and to withdraw its troops and heavy weaponry from population centers. At the same time, the Security Council members reaffirmed their commitments to the “sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity” of Syria.
The statement to the press was at the end of an urgent session of the UN body. The meeting was convened at the initiative of Russia, which insisted on listening to a briefing by the head of the UN observers’ mission in the country, General Robert Mood. Earlier, the UN Security Council discussed a joint French-British draft statement, which also censured the Houla massacre, but unilaterally put the blame on the Syrian government...
http://www.rt.com/news/un-security-syria-houla-348/