At least 90 people have been killed in an attack on Friday by Syrian government forces and loyalists on Houleh, a town in Homs province, according to several media reports. The victims of assault included at least 25 children.
The Syrian National Council or SNC said it strongly condemned the horrifying massacre carried out by Assad regime forces on Friday, May 25 in Houleh in the suburbs of Homs that claimed the lives of 88 people, including 50 children and 300 injured. Some victims were killed by mortar shelling, while others were slaughtered by knives. Entire families were killed in behavior reminiscent of the Dark Ages.
The SNC said it declared a 3-day period of national mourning. The SNC called upon the Free Syrian Army to prevent armed regime militias from reaching civilian areas by blockading roads with all possible means.
In a statement issued by the SNC, the UN Security Council or UNSC is urged to call for an emergency meeting to discuss the factors that led to the massacre occurring in the presence of UN observers.
SNC President Burhan Ghalioun said, "What happened in Houleh is a systematic crime intended to incite sectarian fires in the country. UN envoy Kofi Annan must go to Houleh as soon as he arrives in Syria so he can witness firsthand what happened there. We protest the international silence in regards to the regime's crimes, and call upon the UNSC to meet immediately and take deterrent action under Chapter 7."
Ghalioun continued by saying, "I told the Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the monitors that I spoke to that Kofi Annan cannot continue his mission after the massacres that have taken place, as he visits Damascus without batting an eyelash."
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