The White House said on Sunday it was horrified by the credible reports of brutal attacks on women and children in Houla, Syria, calling the acts further evidence of an inhuman and illegitimate Syrian government.
"These acts serve as a vile testament to an illegitimate regime that responds to peaceful political protest with unspeakable and inhuman brutality," a White House spokesman said.
The Syrian government denied responsibility for killings in a string of villages that left more than 90 people dead, blaming the killings on "hundreds of heavily armed gunmen" who also attacked soldiers in the area.
Friday’s assault on the central area of Houla was one of the bloodiest single events in Syria’s 15-month-old uprising, and gruesome images of dozens of children killed in the attacks prompted a wave of international outrage.
The U.N. said 32 children under the age of 10 were among the dead and issued a statement appearing to hold the Syrian regime responsible. Persistent violence has cast doubt about the future of international efforts to halt 14 months of bloodshed between the regime and forces fighting against it.
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting Sunday to discuss Syria massacre.
