Assad ‘massacres’ over 200 as Russia, China veto his ouster

Russia and China on Saturday vetoed an Arab-and Westernbacked resolution, also supported by Pakistan, at the UN Security Council calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down over his bloody crackdown on a popular uprising, as Syrian forces bombarded the protest city of Homs, killing more than 200 civilians in a “horrific massacre”. The Syrian government denied involvement in the early morning assault, blaming groups trying to incite unrest ahead of Saturday’s UNSC vote, as television images showed bodies and buildings destroyed in a city turned into a war zone. Opposition groups put the death toll at between 217 and at least 260; if confirmed, the violence would be the deadliest in the 10-month uprising against the regime of Assad.

“Assad’s forces randomly bombed residential areas in Homs, including Khaldiyeh and Qusur, which resulted in at least 260 civilians killed and hundreds of wounded, including men, women, and children,” said the Syrian National Council. Al-Jazeera said witnesses spoke of nail bombs raining down and incessant shelling, while one resident reported “non-stop bombardment… by tank shells and mortar bombs.” Shortly before the Security Council voted, US President Barack Obama denounced the “unspeakable assault” on Homs, demanding Assad leave power immediately and called for UN action against Assad’s “relentless brutality”. Obama said in a statement that “any government that brutalises and massacres its people does not deserve to govern”. He and other Western and Arab leaders put unprecedented pressure on Assad’s veto-wielding ally Russia to allow the Security Council to pass a resolution backing an

Arab League call for Assad to transfer powers to a deputy. Apart from Russia and China, the other 13 Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, which would have said that the council “fully supports” the Arab League plan. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday it had not been possible to work constructively with Russia ahead of the vote, even though military intervention in Syria – fiercely opposed by Moscow – had been absolutely ruled out. After what US officials called “vigorous” talks between Clinton and Lavrov, Moscow announced that its foreign minister would fly to Syria in three days to meet Assad. Mohammed Loulichki, the UN ambassador of Morocco, the sole Arab member of the 15-nation council, voiced his “great regret and disappointment” that Moscow and Beijing joined forces to strike down the resolution.

Diplomats said China had been expected to follow Russia’s lead. Russia’s decision to vote against the resolution came after US and European officials rejected a series of Russian amendments to the draft resolution. Moscow said before the vote that the resolution was not “hopeless”, but its wording needed to be altered to avoid “taking sides in a civil war”, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was still possible to reach consensus. But US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said amendments that Russia had proposed were “unacceptable”. Residents said Syrian forces began shelling the Khalidiya neighborhood at around 8pm on Friday using artillery and mortars. They said at least 36 houses were completely destroyed with families inside.