ANKARA
Turkey condemned the latest attacks in Houla, a province of Homs, killing 110 civilians, a statement by the Foreign Ministry said.
"We deplore and condemn in the strongest terms the massacre of at least 110 innocent civilians, including 50 children, as a result of the rocket and artillery bombardment carried out by the Syrian security forces on May 25 against the town of Houla, a province of Homs, and the mass murders committed by soldiers and 'shebbiha' militias who entered into the town afterwards," it said.
"This merciless act, which constitutes a crime against humanity aimed at collectively punishing the people without making any distinction between children, women and the elderly, is yet another indicator of the unlawfulness, despair and cruelty of the Syrian Administration. The shelling by a country's official security forces of its own cities constitutes the most tangible proof that the government of that country has totally lost its legitimacy to rule. This latest act of the Syrian Administration has once again exposed that it disregards the commitments it has assumed under the Annan Plan, as well as its obligations stemming from the UN Security Council Resolutions 2042 and 2043 which envisage a complete and full implementation of this plan," it said.
It said, "The massacre committed in Houla at a time when the UN Supervision Mission (UNSMIS) tasked to monitor the full implementation of the Annan Plan is active on the ground, further increases the gravity of this incident. This massacre reveals that the Syrian administration regards the Annan Plan as a tool to procrastinate and to gain time. We call upon UNSMIS to examine the situation on the spot as soon as possible and to enlighten the international public opinion about the massacre committed there accordingly."
"It is the international community's joint responsibility to make sure that the crimes committed against civilian people in the form of mass murders do not go unpunished. The international community should demonstrate that it will not condone inhumane massacres anymore like the ones committed in Houla and that its patience regarding the fulfillment of the obligations arising from Annan Plan is not infinite," it said.
The statement said Turkey would continue to work in solidarity with the Syrian people and the international community for the opening up the way for a democratic transition process based on the legitimate demands of the people and bringing to an end the human tragedy in Syria before it took more innocent lives.
The statement said, "We wish God's mercy upon our Syrian brothers and sisters who lost their lives in this horrendous incident, extend our condolences to their bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to those wounded."
