UK require emergency UN meeting after Syrian mass killing

The foreign secretary William Hague has summoned the Syrian chargé d’affaires to the foreign office tomorrow, following the massacre of over 90 people in the Syrian city of Houla. 

Hague will meet with the Syrian diplomats to condemn the attacks, in which at least 32 of the victims were children under the age of ten. The mass killing has prompted the foreign secretary to call for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, with the aim of formulating a response.

The UK is said to be in talks with allies at the moment to plan its international response, and France is making its own plans in the wake of the violence.

The attacks in Houla have drawn global condemnation. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced her disgust at the murders, saying: “Those who perpetrated this atrocity must be identified and held to account.”

The attacks have brought into question the six-point peace plan and ceasefire brought into effect on the 12^th of April by UN Arab League Envoy Kofi Annan. The rebel opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) said that the UN needed to meet its responsibilities and bring the violence to a halt in Syria, or it would withdraw its commitment to the ceasefire, which has been breached numerous times since it was brought into effect.

UN leader Ban Ki-Moon has voiced his concerns that the massacre could lead to all-out conflict in the region. In his report, which will be debated by the UN Security Council next week, Ki-Moon said: “There is a continuing crisis on the ground, characterised by regular violence, deteriorating humanitarian conditions, human rights violations and continued political confrontation.” 

Over 12 600 people, the majority of whom were civilians, have died since the Syrian uprising began.

Abbie Cavendish