How Can the World Witness Such Brutality and Do Nothing?

How can we witness such brutality and do nothing?

“From where he was hiding, a 5 year traumatised, yet brave boy told reporters how his younger brother and mother were shot by the soldiers and died. He said he even saw the army vehicles outside”. The incident happened in Houla in Syria.

The massacre in Houla is one of the most brutal acts of violence in the conflict that has plagued Syria since the uprising almost a year ago against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. In total around 11,000 have lost their lives.

Recently the number has risen to 14,000. Violence in spreading fast and vast to many cities and villages. Both the Syrian regime and the armed opposition groups are guilty in the killing of the innocent civilians who are trapped in their homes and killed as a result.

According to Amnesty International in Houla, 61 members of one family were among more than 108 murdered in Houla. According to eye witnesses ( In Alex Thompson, Channel 4 report from Syria) the perpetrators poured from several directions into the town and started the killings. Among the victims, many are children, some beheaded and others are left orphans. these are just the tip of the iceberg. We will know the full scale of the tragedy once the situation calms down. But before then thousands others are dead. 

During the so called Arab spring which is gradually turning into an autumn and cold winter, innocent civilians have been caught in the conflict zones and lost their lives in various ways. Nevertheless, the Houla killing is the hallmark of the atrocities which breaks the heart of every human being who is concerned about humanity and human rights.

We condemn the atrocities in Houla and other cities in Syria and sends its condolences to the survivors of the massacres.

We call on all the international bodies: UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UNICEF and other organisations to:

- Investigate the massacre in Houla, identify the perpetrators and bring them to the International Criminal Court to face their crimes and for the survivors of the massacre to get justice.

- Stop the killings in Syria immediately and explore and execute mechanisms to bring a halt to the civil war in that country.

We, as human beings must step forward to stop killing of innocent people in Syria.