By Twesh Mishra:
The massacre at Houla has shredded the fringes of humanity that were clinging on the bloody revolution in the Middle East. Undeniably one of the most horrific ‘summary’ executions that have occurred in the world post WWII, the Houla killings have once put to fore the credibility of the Assad government.
The UN observers have indicated that tank shelling and heavy artillery was involved in the Friday night assault openly suggesting the involvement of the government forces in the killings. UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon has confirmed that tank fire was involved in the horrendous episode. A total of 108 people were executed including 34 women and 49 children further questioning the very foundations of morals and humanitarian ethos of the perpetrators.
Despite the abundant evidence that clearly indicate involvement of trained armed forces, the Security Council has refrained from openly expressing speculations. A pro-Syrian government stance adhered to by Eurasian giant Russia and fast emerging super power China has caused the council to refrain from declaring their suspect.
Interestingly, Jihad Makdissi, spokesman for the Syrian Foreign Ministry, denied the suggestive allegations that the attacks were another strategy to diffuse the anti-Assad voices in the country. Instead Syrian council blamed the senile butchery on ‘Islamist Militants’. It is also noteworthy that the town of Houla has been considered as a stronghold of the rebel Free Syrian Army and reports of attacks on the city were thronging news months before the petrifying attack. The UN officials helped in the mass burial of the victims and attempted to have a first-hand account from the wounded.
Maha Abdul Razziq, a 10 year old survivor narrated his spine chilling tale, he revealed that armed assailants in uniforms rounded up families and shot them at point blank range. The determination to exterminate was of such magnitude that the assailants did not refrain from shooting a victim twice or thrice and did not stop until death was assured.
The ray of hope for the masses with Hatim Al Malay’s statement that the Free Syrian Army would be deployed around Homs, Plamara and Edlypt to prevent further atrocities by the Assad government invited the ire of Russia which accused the Syrian National Council of attempting to further destabilize Syria. Malay also claimed that any tanks within civil compounds would be treated as a threat and hence would be appropriately dealt with.
For humanity to subsist with the territorial extent of Syria the massacres need to be stopped without further delay. The United Nation needs to step out of the role of being an ‘observer’ and contribute more freely in the peace building process. For Assad, the road to a health retirement is shrinking to negligence and all hope for the country lies at the whims of the world powers.