Young children, entire families among almost 200 ‘massacred’ in besieged Syrian city of Douma
Jun 29, 2012
AFP/Getty Images
A handout image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network on June 29, 2012, shows the bodies of people allegedly killed by government forces during unrest in Douma.
Richard Johnson/National Post
Click on this image to see an interactive map of Syria that shows the locations of this week's major events.
BEIRUT — Syrians in the besieged city of Douma wrapped mangled and bloodied corpses in white burial shrouds early on Friday, according to video posted online, after 190 people were killed in one of the deadliest days of Syria’s 16-month-old uprising.
Activists said more than 50 of those killed on Thursday died in Douma, about 15 km (9 miles) outside the capital Damascus.
Video published on YouTube showed rows of shrouded bodies lining what activists said was a street in Douma. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 41 people had died in the city, while other activists placed the toll at 59 or higher.
“Douma, the morning of June 29, 2012. This is the massacre committed against the people of Douma. God is our saviour. Two whole families are here [among the dead] … God help us,” said the man filming the scene.
One man held up the limp body of a girl, her pink blouse drenched in blood
“This is another massacre of the massacres by Assad and his secret police,” he said. “This is another massacre of the massacres by the international community, of all the great nations that have conspired against our people.”
Douma has been under siege for weeks by security forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
Activists say rockets have been raining down on the city for days amid heavy fighting between rebels and government forces. Video showed homes whose roofs had caved in and clouds of dust rising from crumbling buildings.
An activist called Mohammed Doumany told Reuters by Skype that 22 people from a single family had been killed.
“Dozens of the victims are still waiting to be buried, as cities continue to be under fire,” said a statement from activists posted online. Many of the injured were in critical condition.
AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman
Syrians inspect burned cars at the site of a blast in the Syrian capital Damascus Thursday June 28, 2012. A strong explosion rocked the Syrian capital Thursday near a busy market and the Palace of Justice, sending black smoke billowing into the sky.
Syria’s revolt has grown bloodier in recent weeks.
Rebels, apparently getting access to heavier weapons that can be used against tanks, have inflicted higher losses on Assad’s forces.
The army has also intensified its onslaught, using helicopter gunships to attack rebels and laying siege to rebellious towns.
Opposition activists accuse the international community of inaction. Diplomacy has failed to produce an agreement between Western powers, who favour the opposition, and Russia, which has used its veto power at the United Nations Security Council to block Western and Sunni Arab moves to drive Assad from power.
REUTERS/SANA
Debris from damaged buildings is seen after gunmen stormed the headquarters of Al-Ikhbariya news channel near Damascus June 27, 2012 in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA.
© Thomson Reuters 2012
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