West toughens its policy after slaughter in Houla
The killing of children is a game-changer as Assad continues his crackdown on the Syrian uprising. By Roger Boyes and Suzy Jagger.
The West began toughening its policy towards the regime of President Bashar al-assad last night after the massacre of 108 people, including 49 children, in Houla, one of the bloodiest incidents in the 15-month Syrian uprising.
‘‘The killing of children is a gamechanger,’’ a senior envoy said. ‘‘Everybody has had to move forward fast, since the weekend’s events.’’
The United Nations Security Council condemned the Syrian Government ‘‘in the strongest possible terms’’.
Its statement was agreed by all 15 nations, including, significantly, Russia, which, together with China, had blocked all attempts to rebuke Assad. It said the attacks ‘‘involved a series of government artillery and tank shellings on a residential neighbourhood’’ and demanded that the president withdraw heavy weapons.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who is leading attempts to draw up a hard-edged UN resolution, flew to Moscow to press Russia to lift its protective hand from the Assad regime. Kofi Annan, representing the UN and the Arab League on Syria, flies to Damascus today in a last-ditch attempt to save his ceasefire plan.
Yesterday, Assad’s troops shot two more civilians in Damascus for protesting against the Houla killings. ‘‘They are part of 12,000, perhaps 15,000 deaths in Syria over the past year, predominantly at the hands of the regime,’’ Hague said. In Hama, 30 civilians were reported dead. buried, diplomats discussed increasing the pressure on Damascus.
The Arab League convened a crisis session in Kuwait. The sense of outrage at the killings now pervades all political discussion of the crisis. ‘‘Syria had lost its remoteness,’’ one envoy said.
‘‘The scenes of savagery that we have seen are revolting, stomach churning,’’ Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said.
The main fear is that opposition groups will seek revenge for the massacre and use it as further grounds for breaking the Annan peace plan.
One opposition leader, Burhan Ghalioun, called on Syrians ‘‘to lead a battle of liberation and dignity, relying on its own forces, on the rebels deployed across the country and the Free Syrian Army brigades and friends’’. If the UN did not authorise some military intervention, he said, the gloves were off.
Hague’s task will be to reassure the opposition that the Annan plan still has some life in it, thus heading off a feared sectarian war. But to give the West’s efforts global clout, he needs Russian backing.
‘‘We will be calling for more UN monitors on the ground,’’ Hague said.
About 300 are scheduled to arrive in Syria to monitor the peace plan, which envisages a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Syrian troops and heavy artillery from urban areas. Other measures on the table include further EU sanctions.
Hague, in scheduled talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, will urge Moscow ‘‘to use its substantial leverage on Assad’’, one official said.
But Britain will also be urging Russia to halt arms sales to Damascus. Al Arabiya TV reported that a Russian cargo ship stacked with weapons was due to unload in the Syrian port of Tartus.
Britain’s UN Ambassador, Mark LyallGrant, said the Security Council would meet again in several days to discuss in more detail what steps needed to be taken.