Rebels accuse Assad of large scale massacre after US speaks of arming opposition
Syria’s opposition has accused government forces of massacring at least 62 people. The allegations come after the US has publicly admitted that it’s now considering supplying arms to the rebels.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that bodies were
discovered in the Ras al-Nabaa district of the coastal town of
Banias, which is mainly inhabited by Sunni Muslims.
“We have identified 62 citizens by their names, photos, or
videos, including 14 children,” the activists told AP, adding
that the toll could rise.
The group backed their accusations by posting a graphic video online, which shows the bodies
of ten people, half of them children, they say were killed by the
forces loyal to president, Bashar Assad.
The activists added that hundreds of Sunnis are currently fleeing
Banias in fear for their lives.
The accusations come just two days after the opposition National
Coalition blamed goverment troops for murdering around 100 people
in the village of Bayda, also situated not far from Banias.
Despite the allegations being hard to verify, the US has hurried to
denounce the Syrian regime for staging a “large scale
massacre”.
"We strongly condemn atrocities against the civilian population and
reinforce our solidarity with the Syrian people," Jennifer
Psaki, the US State Department spokeswoman, said in a
statement.
"The United States is appalled by horrific reports that more
than 100 people were killed May 2 in gruesome attacks on the
coastal town of Bayda, Syria," she added.
In the wake of the events, Syrian journalist, Ali Mohamad, told
RT that he isn’t sure that pro-Assad forces were behind the
killings as accusations by the opposition always coincide with
fresh foreign pressure on Damascus.
“Each time a big and important event regarding Syria was
happening whether in the UN Security Council or in any other
entity, each and every time there were talks about massacres and
violations of human rights,” he said. “This is beyond being
by chance anymore. I do believe it’s synthesized and the timing is
very suspicious, not to say more.”
“The opponents of the Syrian regime can accuse it of many things,
but being stupid isn’t one of these things. And it’ll take a lot of
stupidity to time the massacres and graphic violations of human
rights before big decisions are being made,” the journalist
added.
Mohamad stressed that the US plans to arm the rebels won’t help
prevent the Syrian civil war, but would only lead to more blood
being spilled.
“The only way out is talks and the only way to actually solve
the crisis and put an end to it is diplomacy and negotiations. And
the statement made by the Russian Foreign Ministry is not only
accurate, but it describes the only possible solution to this
crisis,” he said. “Let’s remember that people are talking
about the massacre today and applying weapons mean more massacres.
Because there were concerns about the massacres committed by the
rebels and that doesn’t seem to bother the NATO nations or the US.
So, giving more weapons mean more dead people and more dead people
don’t in any way mean something good for the country.”
On Friday, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said that the
stance of Moscow and Washington on Syria is important, but not
everything depends on it as the solution to the crisis can only be
found “in direct talks between the opposition and the government
as agreed by the Geneva protocol.”
As for the plans to send weapons to the opposition, the FM stressed
that it’s a bid for the “military scenario”, which will be
paid for “by more and more Syrian victims.”