US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has joined world leaders to condemn the "atrocity" of the deaths of 92 people - including 32 children - in the Syrian town of Houla, which has prompted global calls for world action to end the bloodshed.
Clinton said the United States would work with its international allies to increase the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad and his "cronies" after the reported massacre, saying their "rule by murder and fear must come to an end".
"The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms yesterday's massacre in the Syrian village of Houla," Clinton said in a statement released by her spokeswoman.
The UN mission said 92 bodies, 32 of them children aged less than 10, had been counted in Houla after reports of an artillery bombardment by Assad's forces.
Ban reaffirmed that UN observers who went to Houla had "viewed the bodies of the dead and confirmed from an examination of ordnance that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential neighbourhood."
The death toll is one of the highest for any single event since the popular uprising against Assad began in March 2011. The UN says more than 9000 people have been killed in total, most of them civilians.
A local activist reached via Skype said regime forces started shelling the village of Houla, about 40km north-west of the city of Homs in west-central Syria, after an anti-regime demonstration following Muslim prayers on Friday. Twelve people were killed in the shelling, said the activist, who gave his name as Abu Yazan.
Later, pro-regime thugs stormed the village of Taldaw, just south of Houla, raiding homes and shooting at civilians.
"They killed entire families, from parents on down to children, but they focused on the children," he said.
Amateur videos posted online showed many children among the dozens of dead laid out in different rooms and covered with sheets and blankets. One video showed 14 dead children lined up on a floor, shoulder to shoulder.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/horror-c...527-1zcjy.html
It is time for the US to take military action in my opinion.
Last edited by soloooooo; 27 May 2012 at 11:17 AM.
“You want, if possible—-and there is no more insane “if possible”—-to ABOLISH SUFFERING. And we? It really seems that WE would rather have it higher and worse than ever. Well-being as you understand it—-that is no goal, that seems to us an END, a state that soon makes man ridiculous and contemptible—-that makes his destruction DESIRABLE.”
— Nietzsche - “Beyond Good and Evil” - section 225
yes, more skulls for the skull throne
Australia world police ye
It was time to intervene this time last year. It's horrible what's going on at the moment. But they go with what's in their interests. THat's why they got involved in Yugoslavia in 1999 and Libya in 2011, but didn't in Rwanda 1994 (where 800,000 people were killed in 10 months...A rate higher than the Holocaust) or now, in Syria.
So much for R2P...
B.A. , LL.B. (Syd) '16
When has military intervention solved anything other than protect the United States' foreign investments?Originally Posted by alstah
“You want, if possible—-and there is no more insane “if possible”—-to ABOLISH SUFFERING. And we? It really seems that WE would rather have it higher and worse than ever. Well-being as you understand it—-that is no goal, that seems to us an END, a state that soon makes man ridiculous and contemptible—-that makes his destruction DESIRABLE.”
— Nietzsche - “Beyond Good and Evil” - section 225
Yes, this was my point. But this shouldn't be the case, especially after R2P was adopted 7 years ago now. Guess it's a worthless and impossible to enforce, but so effectively quoted by Obama when he went into Libya.
B.A. , LL.B. (Syd) '16
"Each family has their rules, each country has their laws"
What right do we have to walk in there and act as mediators?
we should invade syria and give them democracy
discuss
nice try Bashar Assad
Are you kidding or what? He makes a perfectly valid point.
For many this is a difficult position to hold, as it requires disassociating from moral prejudices.
“You want, if possible—-and there is no more insane “if possible”—-to ABOLISH SUFFERING. And we? It really seems that WE would rather have it higher and worse than ever. Well-being as you understand it—-that is no goal, that seems to us an END, a state that soon makes man ridiculous and contemptible—-that makes his destruction DESIRABLE.”
— Nietzsche - “Beyond Good and Evil” - section 225
Well hasn't that always worked out perfectly...
B Commerce I UNSW
It's like saying that we should intervene in a family feud where we are ONLY told what they want us to hear (or what the media wants to say) and take a side, we don't know the whole story for all we know both sides are just as dirty as the other
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks