Syria: Escalating War of Words over Houla Massacre

May 27, 2012 from Telegraph.co.uk

Speaking as the UN Security Council condemned Syria's government for the massacre of at least 108 people in the town of Houla, the UK's ambassador to the United Nations, Mark Lyall-Grant, said "There are no circumstances whatsoever that justify the use of heavy weapons and tanks against civilian population." Meanwhile, his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Jaafari denounced what he described as "a tsunami of lies" from the UN.

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Houla massacre

The Houla massacre was an attack that took place on May 25, 2012, in two opposition-controlled villages in the Houla Region of Syria. According to UN observers, 108 people were killed, including 25 men, 34 women, and 49 children. Major General Robert Mood, head of the United N... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

UN Security Council

The United Nations Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the e... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Houla

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Mark Lyall Grant

Sir Mark Justin Lyall Grant, KCMG is a British diplomat who currently serves as the Her Britannic Majesty's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Explore this topic

Bashar Jaafari

Bashar Jaafari, also Ja'afari, is the current Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Explore this topic

Civilian casualties

Civilian casualties is a military term describing civilian or non-combatant persons killed, injured, or imprisoned by military action. The description of civilian casualties includes any form of military action regardless of whether civilians were targeted directly. This diffe... Explore this topic

Summary execution

A summary execution is a variety of execution in which a person is accused of a crime and then immediately killed without benefit of a full and fair trial. This includes show trials, but is usually understood to mean capture, accusation, and execution all conducted during a ve... Explore this topic

Artillery

Artillery is a weapon of war that operates by projection of munitions far beyond the effective range of personal weapons. Artillery comprise specialised devices which use some form of stored energy to operate, whether mechanical, chemical, or electromagnetic. Originally design... Explore this topic

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Houla massacre

Syria

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