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| Syria: new 'massacre' in Homs as diplomacy stalls - live updates | Syria: new 'massacre' in Homs as diplomacy stalls - live updates |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 11.44am: The apparent failure of Kofi Annan's visit to Syria will not have come as surprise to foreign ministers gathering at the UN in New York. But what will they try next? William Hague is staying cheery: | |
| Early start in New York. On my way to meet Ban Ki Moon & Valerie Amos, & chair UN Security Council special session on #MiddleEast & #Syria | |
| — William Hague (@WilliamJHague) March 12, 2012 | |
| AP sets the scene for the talks in New York. | |
| Much attention is likely to be focused on the private meeting between Clinton and Lavrov, which is expected to be dominated by serious differences over how to address the violence in Syria. | |
| Russia, which is Syria's most powerful ally, and China have vetoed two security council resolutions which would have condemned President Bashar Assad's bloody crackdown, saying they were unbalanced and demanded that only the government stop attacks, not the opposition. Moscow accused Western powers of fuelling the conflict by backing the rebels. | |
| Earlier this month, the United States proposed a new draft which tried to take a more balanced approach, but diplomats said Russia and China rejected it, saying it was still unbalanced. | |
| Lavrov was flying to New York from Cairo, where he had a tense meeting with Arab League foreign ministers. They have endorsed a plan for Assad to hand power to his vice president, but the Russians are adamantly opposed to any resolution endorsing regime change. | |
| In the end, the Arab League and Lavrov agreed on several points that could serve as the basis for a future security council resolution: an immediate cease-fire, a clause preventing foreign intervention, assurances about humanitarian aid and an endorsement of the mission of special envoy to Syria, former UN chief Kofi Annan. | |
| 11.09am: An opposition activist has rejected government claims that armed terrorists were responsible for an alleged massacre in the Karm al-Zeytoun in Homs. | |
| Mulham al-Jundi, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council, who fled Homs last Wednesday, claimed his contacts in the area had reported that security forces had raped women and burned families alive by dousing their homes in petrol. | |
| The claims, which are being repeated by a number of activists, cannot be independently verified. | |
| Speaking from Saudi Arabia, where he is being treated for a wounded leg sustained in an assault on Homs last month, al-Jundi said: "Only Assad's Shabbiha are raping women and killing kids." | |
| Asked to provide proof of the claims, he said: "More than 20 videos have been recorded of what's happened. The photos are very clear. We cannot provide more proof than this." | |
| In response to the government's claim that terrorists were to blame, he said: "Where are the terrorists? Why are the terrorists helping the injured. Why are terrorists making videos and publishing them? I'm 100% sure this has happened." | |
| 10.33am: Al-Jazeera's Anita McNaught was in the northern city of Idlib as it came under assault by Syrian Army over the weekend. | 10.33am: Al-Jazeera's Anita McNaught was in the northern city of Idlib as it came under assault by Syrian Army over the weekend. |
| Every bullet fired was returned by a tank shell she was told. | Every bullet fired was returned by a tank shell she was told. |
| 10.22am: A car bomb has killed a schoolgirl and wounded 25 others at a school in the southern Syrian city of Deraa, an opposition activist told Reuters. | 10.22am: A car bomb has killed a schoolgirl and wounded 25 others at a school in the southern Syrian city of Deraa, an opposition activist told Reuters. |
| "The car exploded at nine in the morning in al-Kashef neighbourhood in front of al-Mahatta High School for Girls, which has been active in (anti-Assad) demonstrations," Maher Abdelhaq told Reuters from the city on the border with Jordan. | "The car exploded at nine in the morning in al-Kashef neighbourhood in front of al-Mahatta High School for Girls, which has been active in (anti-Assad) demonstrations," Maher Abdelhaq told Reuters from the city on the border with Jordan. |
| 10.01am: Twenty four of the people found dead in the Karm al-Zeytoun area of Homs yesterday have been identified, but many more are feared dead, an activist in the city told the Guardian. | 10.01am: Twenty four of the people found dead in the Karm al-Zeytoun area of Homs yesterday have been identified, but many more are feared dead, an activist in the city told the Guardian. |
| Waleed Fares, who is based in the northern district of al-Khalidyeh, said 40 bodies had been recovered, but some were unidentifiable. | Waleed Fares, who is based in the northern district of al-Khalidyeh, said 40 bodies had been recovered, but some were unidentifiable. |
| "We have the names of 24 people. We will publish documents about what happened in next few hours," he said via Skype. | "We have the names of 24 people. We will publish documents about what happened in next few hours," he said via Skype. |
| Fares said most of those killed were stabbed to death. "I feel there will be a lot more than 40 killed," he said. | Fares said most of those killed were stabbed to death. "I feel there will be a lot more than 40 killed," he said. |
| He added that the south-eastern districts of al-Adawiyeh, Ashera, as well as Karm el-Zeytoun, have been shelled for the last three days. The bodies of those killed were recovered by Free Syrian Army soldiers, he claimed. | He added that the south-eastern districts of al-Adawiyeh, Ashera, as well as Karm el-Zeytoun, have been shelled for the last three days. The bodies of those killed were recovered by Free Syrian Army soldiers, he claimed. |
| His account cannot be independently verified. | His account cannot be independently verified. |
| Graphic video footage purported to show a survivor of the attacked being treated in a makeshift clinic. He claimed shabbiha - armed supporters of Assad - were responsible [warning: disturbing content]. | Graphic video footage purported to show a survivor of the attacked being treated in a makeshift clinic. He claimed shabbiha - armed supporters of Assad - were responsible [warning: disturbing content]. |
| 8.48am: The bodies of 47 women and children have been found in the Karm el-Zeytoun and al-Adawiyeh districts of south-east Homs, an activist told AFP. | 8.48am: The bodies of 47 women and children have been found in the Karm el-Zeytoun and al-Adawiyeh districts of south-east Homs, an activist told AFP. |
| Horrific pictures have been posted online showing some of the alleged victims. | Horrific pictures have been posted online showing some of the alleged victims. |
| AFP also reports that the opposition Syrian National Council has called for an emergency UN security council meeting to discuss the massacre. | AFP also reports that the opposition Syrian National Council has called for an emergency UN security council meeting to discuss the massacre. |
| Meanwhile, a group of 43 dignitaries, including former British foreign secretary David Miliband, former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, and the Italian writer Umberto Eco, has urged the United Nations to unite around the Arab League's peace plan for ending the violence in Syria. | Meanwhile, a group of 43 dignitaries, including former British foreign secretary David Miliband, former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, and the Italian writer Umberto Eco, has urged the United Nations to unite around the Arab League's peace plan for ending the violence in Syria. |
| The Turkish paper Zaman, quotes a open letter to the UN from the group as saying: "splits among the international community have provided the Assad regime with a license to kill [and] that license must be withdrawn." | The Turkish paper Zaman, quotes a open letter to the UN from the group as saying: "splits among the international community have provided the Assad regime with a license to kill [and] that license must be withdrawn." |
| 8.28am: (all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. Activists claim more than a dozen people have been killed in Homs after the UN-Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, left Syria without securing an agreement to stop the violence. | 8.28am: (all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. Activists claim more than a dozen people have been killed in Homs after the UN-Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, left Syria without securing an agreement to stop the violence. |
| Here's a roundup in more detail: | Here's a roundup in more detail: |
| Syria | Syria |
| • Syrian activist groups say pro-government gunmen have killed more than a dozen people in the embattled central city of Homs. Syria's state media confirmed deaths in Homs, but blamed "armed terrorists." | • Syrian activist groups say pro-government gunmen have killed more than a dozen people in the embattled central city of Homs. Syria's state media confirmed deaths in Homs, but blamed "armed terrorists." |
| • Kofi Annan has left Syria without a deal to end the year-old conflict in the country, as regime forces mounted a new assault on rebel strongholds in the north. The former UN secretary general said he had presented the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, with concrete proposals "which will have a real impact on the ground". | • Kofi Annan has left Syria without a deal to end the year-old conflict in the country, as regime forces mounted a new assault on rebel strongholds in the north. The former UN secretary general said he had presented the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, with concrete proposals "which will have a real impact on the ground". |
| • Annan will now try to persuade the fractured Syrian opposition to form a more united front, according to the New York Times. It also reports that Arab League officials are hoping that a peace plan agreed to on Saturday between Arab foreign ministers and Russia could pave the way for a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria. In the proposal, Arab League members dropped their demand that Assad step down and said there should be no "foreign interference" in the conflict, meeting some of the demands of Russia and China, which have vetoed previous resolutions. | • Annan will now try to persuade the fractured Syrian opposition to form a more united front, according to the New York Times. It also reports that Arab League officials are hoping that a peace plan agreed to on Saturday between Arab foreign ministers and Russia could pave the way for a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria. In the proposal, Arab League members dropped their demand that Assad step down and said there should be no "foreign interference" in the conflict, meeting some of the demands of Russia and China, which have vetoed previous resolutions. |
| • US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is due meet Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the UN today, where she will be hoping for signs that Russia is willing to back a new draft resolution on Syria, the Christian Science Monitor reports. But state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland acknowledged that recent consultations with council members had not resulted in an "agreed text," and added that she was not "overly optimistic" that an agreement could be reached "in the near future". | • US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is due meet Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the UN today, where she will be hoping for signs that Russia is willing to back a new draft resolution on Syria, the Christian Science Monitor reports. But state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland acknowledged that recent consultations with council members had not resulted in an "agreed text," and added that she was not "overly optimistic" that an agreement could be reached "in the near future". |
| • Foreign media companies bear the responsibility for anything that happens to journalists who "sneak" into Syria, Assad's government has warned. Meanwhile, the funeral will be held today for Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin who was killed last month in the Baba Amr area of Homs, in an attack on a makeshift media centre. | • Foreign media companies bear the responsibility for anything that happens to journalists who "sneak" into Syria, Assad's government has warned. Meanwhile, the funeral will be held today for Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin who was killed last month in the Baba Amr area of Homs, in an attack on a makeshift media centre. |
| Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia |
| • Thousands of students at an all-female university boycotted lectures at the weekend to protest against poor services, in a rare display of dissent from women in the Islamic kingdom. Students said security forces had broken up an earlier protest at King Khalid university on Wednesday, leaving dozens injured. | • Thousands of students at an all-female university boycotted lectures at the weekend to protest against poor services, in a rare display of dissent from women in the Islamic kingdom. Students said security forces had broken up an earlier protest at King Khalid university on Wednesday, leaving dozens injured. |
| Gaza | Gaza |
| • A 12-year-old boy was killed in Gaza on Sunday amid a spiralling round of militant rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes over the weekend that left at least 18 Palestinians dead and four people in Israel injured. A further 50 Palestinians were injured, five seriously, according to medical services in Gaza. | • A 12-year-old boy was killed in Gaza on Sunday amid a spiralling round of militant rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes over the weekend that left at least 18 Palestinians dead and four people in Israel injured. A further 50 Palestinians were injured, five seriously, according to medical services in Gaza. |
| Egypt | Egypt |
| • An army doctor has been acquitted of carrying out forced "virginity tests" on female protesters in Egypt last year. The presiding judge said there had been contradictions in the witness testimonies of the three women who came forward. Human rights campaigners dismissed the verdict as a sham and a protest march against the high court in Cairo is planned for this Friday. | • An army doctor has been acquitted of carrying out forced "virginity tests" on female protesters in Egypt last year. The presiding judge said there had been contradictions in the witness testimonies of the three women who came forward. Human rights campaigners dismissed the verdict as a sham and a protest march against the high court in Cairo is planned for this Friday. |
| Bahrain | Bahrain |
| • Police use teargas on opposition activists after unrest following the funeral of a protester who died as a result of a head wound he received in a previous demonstration, the Telegraph reports. Hundreds of opposition supporters attended the funeral of 22-year-old Fadhel Mirza in Diraz, west of Bahrain's capital, Manama on Saturday. | • Police use teargas on opposition activists after unrest following the funeral of a protester who died as a result of a head wound he received in a previous demonstration, the Telegraph reports. Hundreds of opposition supporters attended the funeral of 22-year-old Fadhel Mirza in Diraz, west of Bahrain's capital, Manama on Saturday. |