US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemns Syria ‘atrocity’ in Houla

WASHINGTON, May 27: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday condemned the “atrocity” of the deaths of 92 people in the Syrian town of Houla, joining global calls for world action to end the bloodshed, reports AFP. 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 the central Syrian town of Houla after reports of an artillery bombardment by Assad’s forces. Clinton said UN observers “have confirmed that dozens of men, women, and children were killed and hundreds more wounded in a vicious assault that involved a regime artillery and tank barrage on a residential neighborhood.” “Those who perpetrated this atrocity must be identified and held to account,” she added. “And the United States will work with the international community to intensify our pressure on Assad and his cronies, whose rule by murder and fear must come to an end.” “We stand in solidarity with the Syrian people and the peaceful marchers in cities across Syria who have taken to the streets to denounce the massacre in Houla,” the chief US diplomat said.  The News Today