Syria opposition urges UN action after Houla 'massacre'

NICOSIA: The opposition Syrian National Council has urged the UN Security Council to act urgently after regime forces "massacred" what it said was more than 110 people, including entire families, in the town of Houla.

"Today in Houla, a village near Homs, more than 110 people were killed (half of whom are children) by the Syrian regime's forces. Some of the victims were hit by heavy artillery while others, entire families, were massacred," said a statement from SNC spokeswoman Basma Kodmani.

The casualty figure given by the SNC is more than double that of 50 dead, as well as hundreds wounded, provided by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"The Syrian National Council urges the UN Security Council to call for an emergency meeting to examine the situation in Houla and to determine the responsibility of the United Nations in face of such mass killings, expulsions and forced migration from entire neighbourhoods," Kodmani said.