UN and Arab League envoy travels to Damascus

Special Envoy of the UN and the Arab League Kofi Annan will travel to Damascus on Monday for talks with senior Syrian officials. Meanwhile, the violence in the Middle Eastern country continues. UN and Arab League envoy travels to Damascus "Annan will arrive in Damascus today and will meet with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. Tomorrow he will meet President Bashar al Assad," said an official source in Damascus on Monday. In the shelling in the town of Hama at least 41 people were reported dead in the past 24 houts, among them eight children and five women, according to the Syrian opposition. Combat vehicles and tanks of the Syrian army opened fire yesterday in several neighborhoods Hama, in response to several attacks launched by the rebel "Free Syrian Army" against the military barricades and strongholds. In New York, the UN Security Council held an emergency session and issued a statement which reiterated its earlier call for a cessation of violence in Syria and demanded that those responsible for the massacre in the town of Houla be punished. According to Reuters, the UN Security Council yesterday unanimously condemned the government troops for the use of heavy weapons in the attack on the town of Houla, where at least 108 people were reprorted killed, among them children. The council also condemned the killings of civilians who were shot at close range, and those who died from physical abuse. General Robert Mood, who heads the UN observer mission in Syria, addressed the Security Council via video link from Damascus, saying that most of the victims in the town of Houla died of shrapnel wounds and those inflicted by firearms, for which the Western powers have accused forces loyal to the Syrian president. But Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Aleksandr Pankin opposed this stance, saying that there was reason to believe that most of those killed were liquidated at close range - with their throats slit by knives - which stands in contrast to Mood's report. "You can't have one or two houses destroyed and 500 people injured by shrapnel. We need to determine whether the Syrian authorities were involved, before we agree on anything," Pankin told reporters at the UN. The session last night confirmed "commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria", said a statement. Meanwhile, the Syrian government denied its involvement in the massacre in Houla, saying that terrorists were behind it and that those who took part in it must face justice. The government in Damascus has established a special commission to investigate the matter. In Syria, more than 13,000 people were reported killed since March of last year, when anti-regime protests and violence flared up in the country. The violence continues unabated despite a ceasefire agreement reached in April through the mediation Kofi Annan. Kofi Annan (file) Tanjug

UN and Arab League envoy travels to Damascus

"Annan will arrive in Damascus today and will meet with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. Tomorrow he will meet President Bashar al Assad," said an official source in Damascus on Monday.

In the shelling in the town of Hama at least 41 people were reported dead in the past 24 houts, among them eight children and five women, according to the Syrian opposition.

Combat vehicles and tanks of the Syrian army opened fire yesterday in several neighborhoods Hama, in response to several attacks launched by the rebel "Free Syrian Army" against the military barricades and strongholds.

In New York, the UN Security Council held an emergency session and issued a statement which reiterated its earlier call for a cessation of violence in Syria and demanded that those responsible for the massacre in the town of Houla be punished.

According to Reuters, the UN Security Council yesterday unanimously condemned the government troops for the use of heavy weapons in the attack on the town of Houla, where at least 108 people were reprorted killed, among them children. The council also condemned the killings of civilians who were shot at close range, and those who died from physical abuse.

General Robert Mood, who heads the UN observer mission in Syria, addressed the Security Council via video link from Damascus, saying that most of the victims in the town of Houla died of shrapnel wounds and those inflicted by firearms, for which the Western powers have accused forces loyal to the Syrian president.

But Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Aleksandr Pankin opposed this stance, saying that there was reason to believe that most of those killed were liquidated at close range - with their throats slit by knives - which stands in contrast to Mood's report.

"You can't have one or two houses destroyed and 500 people injured by shrapnel. We need to determine whether the Syrian
authorities were involved, before we agree on anything," Pankin told reporters at the UN.

The session last night confirmed "commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria", said a statement.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government denied its involvement in the massacre in Houla, saying that terrorists were behind it and that those who took part in it must face justice. The government in Damascus has established a special commission to investigate the matter.

In Syria, more than 13,000 people were reported killed since March of last year, when anti-regime protests and violence flared up in the country. The violence continues unabated despite a ceasefire agreement reached in April through the mediation Kofi Annan.