United Nations investigators have concluded the massacre of civilians in Houla, Syria was conducted by government troops and militia connected to the Syrian government.
The UN report states that the violations were authorized by the highest levels of the Syrian government.
In the May 2012 massacre, 108 civilians were killed. As the report was released, at least 30 people were killed when Syrian government warplanes attacked the town of Azaz. Continue reading
The battles between government forces and the Free Syrian Army are gaining intensity as neighborhoods in the city exchange control multiple times in the same day.
The Salah al-Din part of the city, considered a strategic district by both sides, was reported to be captured by government forces but a later report said the FSA recaptured the area. Continue reading
The UN General Assembly is taking the rare step of condemning the UN Security Council for not taking action in the Syrian civil war. The Assembly is trying to pressure the Security Council to intervene in the war which has left over 20,000 dead.
The action follows yesterday’s resignation of Kofi Annan as special envoy for the UN and the Arab League. Analysts believe the resignation shows that the diplomatic and political process has failed in the nation. Continue reading
Kofi Annan, who has championed peace plans and tried to bring a diplomatic solution to the civil war in Syria, has resigned as the UN and Arab League special envoy to the country.
The news comes as Syrian rebels in Aleppo are hammering a military airfield. The rebels have taken tanks and other heavy machinery from the military after battles and are now putting them toward their offensive. Continue reading
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad praised his soldiers for taking on what he called “armed terrorist gangs” and said that the current battles between his forces and rebels will determine the fate of the country.
Al-Assad did not appear in public to deliver the statement himself but released a written declaration. Al-Assad has not appeared in public in two weeks. Continue reading
The government offensive in Aleppo entered the fourth day with Syria’s state run TV stating the government has inflicted “heavy losses” on what they term as “terrorist groups.” The Free Syrian Army is denying the validity of the claims and the gains that the government has taken back neighborhoods within the city.
Rebels report that helicopter gunships have increased their assaults on the city and that heavy shelling is taking place in areas that contain civilians. Fighting also increased near the headquarters of the Air Force Intelligence agency. Continue reading
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, is calling for the world to take action to stop the “slaughter” in Syria caused by the country’s civil war.
The plea from the UN head came as reports came from Damascus of 23 people killed in a massacre in the Qaboun neighborhood. The reports from Damascus were released after the government positioned forces around the city of Aleppo. Continue reading
Major General Robert Mood, head of the UN’s Syrian Observer team that left last week, told Reuters that it’s “only a matter of time” until the government of President Bashar al-Assad falls in Syria.
“It is only a matter of time before a regime that is using such heavy military panel and disproportional violence against the civilian population is going to fall,” Mood told Reuters. Continue reading
Aleppo, the largest city in the country of Syria, has been hit by gunships as fighting in the country’s civil war intensifies, according to BBC reports.
Rebels have launched a major offensive against government forces in the city in an attempt to wrest control of the region. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that territorial gains by the rebels would help to create a “safe haven” for those opposed to the current Syrian regime. Continue reading
Government troops have stormed a Damascus district with tanks for the first time, five days on from the outbreak of
fierce clashes in the capital, a UK-based rights group has said. Continue reading