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See more Images of April Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Powerful "Flame" cyber weapon found in Iran 28 May 2012 Romney tells vets dangerous world demands powerful military 28 May 2012 UK has changed for worse under Queen Elizabeth: poll 28 May 2012 Dewey files for Chapter 11 in record law firm collapse 7:23am EDT Fukushima radiation seen in tuna off California 28 May 2012 Discussed 123 Romney tells vets dangerous world demands powerful military 104 Iran has enough uranium for five bombs: expert 96 Protests planned after minister calls for gays to be fenced in Watched A look at the UK’s most beautiful face Thu, May 10 2012 One stray dog's incredible journey with Chinese cyclists Sun, May 27 2012 Cruise ship crunch Sat, May 26 2012 Assad digs in as West expels Syrian envoys Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Assad: "terrorist groups" behind rise in violence:TV 9:42am EDT Analysis & Opinion The arms race for human rights America and Syriaâ€™s ‘dead man walking’ Related Topics World » Russia » United Nations » Syria » 1 of 10. People gather at a mass burial for the victims purportedly killed during an artillery barrage from Syrian forces in Houla in this handout image dated May 26, 2012. U.N. observers in Syria have confirmed that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential area of Houla, Syria, where at least 108 people, including many children, were killed, the U.N. chief said on Sunday in a letter to the Security Council. Credit: Reuters/Shaam News Network/Handout By Joseph Logan BEIRUT | Tue May 29, 2012 11:50am EDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western powers expelled Syria's envoys on Tuesday in outrage at a massacre of 108 people, almost half of them children, but a defiant President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, showed no sign of yielding to their pressure. The killings in the town of Houla drew a chorus of condemnation from around the world, with the United Nations saying entire families were shot dead in their homes on Friday. "Bashar al-Assad is the murderer of his people," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Le Monde. "He must relinquish power. The sooner the better." His Australian counterpart Bob Carr said: "This massacre of more than 100 men, women and children in Houla was a hideous and brutal crime." The United States, France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands and Bulgaria gave Syria's envoys hours or days to leave their capitals in a coordinated move that underlined Assad's diplomatic isolation. Some had already expelled ambassadors or downgraded ties and so, like Washington, ordered out less senior charges d'affaires. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the Houla attack "the most unambiguous indictment to date" of Damascus's refusal to implement U.N. resolutions. "We hold the Syrian government responsible for this slaughter of innocent lives," she said. International peace envoy Kofi Annan, in Damascus to try to save a six-week-old peace plan that has failed to stem Syria's bloodshed, told Assad of the "grave concern of the international community about the violence in Syria", especially in Houla, his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said after two hours of talks in Damascus. But Assad's government denied having anything to do with the deaths, or even having heavy weapons in the area, despite the contrary evidence found by United Nations monitors. Assad himself repeated to Annan Syria's line that "terrorist groups" - Syria's term for the rebels - were stepping up killings and kidnappings across the country. Western countries that have called for Assad to step down are hoping that the Houla killings will tip global opinion, notably that of Syria's main protector Russia, towards more effective action against Damascus. Carr said Syria's expelled charge d'affaires in Canberra was told to "convey a clear message to Damascus that Australians are appalled by this massacre and we will pursue a unified international response to hold those responsible to account". SHELLS AND TANK TRACKS U.N. monitors found spent shells and fresh tank tracks in Houla, evidence of weaponry that Syria's lightly-armed rebels do not have in their arsenal. But the U.N. human rights office in Geneva said the bulk of the 108 mostly civilian dead in Houla had been executed at close range. Most had been shot. Survivors told U.N. investigators that the killers were pro-Assad "shabbiha" militiamen, who in the past have assaulted and intimidated hotbeds of opposition to Assad. "What is very clear is that this was an absolutely abominable event that took place in Houla, and at least a substantial part of it were summary executions of civilians - women and children," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. human rights office in Geneva. He said there were 49 children and 32 women among the victims. "At this point, it looks like entire families were shot in their houses." The report contradicted an open letter sent by Syria to the U.N. Security Council on Monday that said: "Not a single tank entered the region and the Syrian army was in a state of self-defense ... "The terrorist armed groups ... entered with the purpose of killing and the best proof of that is the killing by knives, which is the signature of terrorist groups who massacre according to the Islamist way." Gruesome video footage distributed by opposition activists has helped to shake world opinion out of growing indifference to a conflict in which more than 10,000 have been killed, most of them opposition supporters killed by security forces. Opposition sources said rebels had killed 20 soldiers in heavy fighting close to the border with Turkey. They said six civilians and six rebels, including two commanders, had also been killed over the past 24 hours in fighting that began when the army launched an offensive with tanks and helicopters to retake the region around Atareb. FOCUS ON SECURITY COUNCIL German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urged the U.N. Security Council to revisit the situation in Syria. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that "there is also a limit to patience, and I believe that, God willing, there is also a limit to the patience in the U.N. Security Council". But Russia, which on Sunday backed a non-binding U.N. Security Council text criticizing the use of artillery and tanks in Houla, but has twice vetoed tougher resolutions, showed no sign of changing its stance. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Annan in a telephone call that "all sides" must end the violence without delay, a statement said. Russia long saw Assad's late father as the best defender of its interests in the region, and leases a major naval base in Syria. It has suggested that foreign countries are undermining Annan's plan by supporting the opposition. "We are alarmed that some countries ... are starting to use this event as an excuse to put forth demands of the need for military action in an attempt to put pressure on the U.N. Security Council," Lavrov told journalists in Moscow. "We are troubled by the ceaseless attempts to frustrate Kofi Annan's peace plan." The plan calls for the government to withdraw all heavy weapons from towns and cities, followed by a cessation of fighting and dialogue with the opposition, but has stalled at the first hurdle. Annan himself "conveyed in frank terms his view to President Assad that the six-point plan cannot succeed without bold steps to stop the violence and release detainees, and stressed the importance of full implementation of the plan", Fawzi said. But Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told reporters in Damascus: "Syria has not committed a single violation of Annan's plan or the initial understanding between Syria and the United Nations. "At the same time, the other party has not committed to a single point. This means that there is a decision by the armed groups and the opposition not to implement Annan's plan and to make it fail." He said he expected Annan to pressure the foreign states backing what Syria describes as a terrorist conspiracy. Sunni Muslim Gulf powers Saudi Arabia and Qatar favor arming the mostly-Sunni rebels fighting Assad, whose ruling cadre are mostly Alawites - members of an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. (Writing by Kevin Liffey, editing by Peter Millership) World Russia United Nations Syria Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (20) devildoc68 wrote: Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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