File Picture - Syrian Mass Massacre Claims 200 LivesReuters
File Picture - Syrian Mass Massacre Claims 200 LivesReutersThe bodies of people whom anti-government protesters say were killed by government security forces lie on the ground in Huola, near Homs May 26, 2012. The death toll has risen to at least 90 from Syrian shelling on the town of Houla on Friday, an opposition group said on Saturday. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said residents continued to flee the town, in central Homs province, in fear that artillery fire would resume.ReutersThe bodies of children whom anti-government protesters say were killed by government security forces lie on the ground in Huola, near Homs May 26, 2012. A Syrian artillery barrage killed more than 90 people, including dozens of children, in the worst violence since the start of a U.N. peace plan to staunch the flow of blood from Syria's uprising, activists said on Saturday. The bloodied bodies of children, some with their skulls split open, were shown in footage posted to YouTube purporting to show the victims of the shelling in the central town of Houla on Friday. The sound of wailing filled the room.ReutersThe bodies of whom anti-government protesters say were killed by government security forces lie on the ground at Ali Bin Al Hussein mosque in Huola, near Homs May 26, 2012. A Syrian artillery barrage killed more than 90 people, including dozens of children, in the worst violence since the start of a U.N. peace plan to staunch the flow of blood from Syria's uprising, activists said on Saturday.ReutersThe body of a woman whom anti-government protesters say was killed by government security forces lies on the ground at Ali Bin Al Hussein mosque in Huola, near Homs May 26, 2012. A Syrian artillery barrage killed more than 90 people, including dozens of children, in the worst violence since the start of a U.N. peace plan to staunch the flow of blood from Syria's uprising, activists said on Saturday.ReutersDead bodies, whom anti-government protesters say were killed by government security forces, are seen placed on a vehicle belonging to the United Nations observers' mission in Syria in Huola, near Homs May 26, 2012. Picture taken May 26, 2012.ReutersA member of the United Nations observers on a monitoring mission in Syria takes pictures of bodies of people whom anti-government protesters say were killed by government security forces, at Ali Bin Al Hussein mosque in Houla, near Homs in this handout dated May 26, 2012 . U.N. observers in Syria have confirmed that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential area of Houla, Syria, where at least 108 people, including many children, were killed, the U.N. chief said on Sunday in a letter to the Security Council.ReutersPeople gather at a mass burial for the victims purportedly killed during an artillery barrage from Syrian forces in Houla in this handout image dated May 26, 2012. U.N. observers in Syria have confirmed that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential area of Houla, Syria, where at least 108 people, including many children, were killed, the U.N. chief said on Sunday in a letter to the Security Council.ReutersA wounded man lies on a bed in a hospital after sustaining injuries from a road explosion on a bus carrying officers and soldiers in Aleppo May 28, 2012. The blast killed three officers and wounded several people, according to local media.ReutersA man reacts over the bodies of people whom anti-government protesters say were killed by gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad near the town of Qusair May 31, 2012. Twelve workers were killed on Thursday near Syria's western town of al-Qusair when gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad ordered them off a bus and shot them, activists said on Friday, but Syrian media blamed "terrorists" for the killings. Hamza Al-Buweida, a local opposition activist, said he spoke to a survivor who said the dead men had been returning from work at a fertilizer company in al-Buweida al-Sharqiya.ReutersBodies of people whom anti-government protesters say were killed by gunmen loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are lined up on the floor near the town of Qusair May 31, 2012. Twelve workers were killed on Thursday near Syria's western town of al-Qusair when gunmen loyal to Assad ordered them off a bus and shot them, activists said on Friday, but Syrian media blamed "terrorists" for the killings. Hamza Al-Buweida, a local opposition activist, said he spoke to a survivor who said the dead men had been returning from work at a fertilizer company in al-Buweida al-Sharqiya.ReutersBodies of people whom anti-government protesters say were killed by gunmen loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are lined up on the ground near the town of Qusair May 31, 2012. Twelve workers were killed on Thursday near Syria's western town of al-Qusair when gunmen loyal to Assad ordered them off a bus and shot them, activists said on Friday, but Syrian media blamed "terrorists" for the killings. Hamza Al-Buweida, a local opposition activist, said he spoke to a survivor who said the dead men had been returning from work at a fertilizer company in al-Buweida al-Sharqiya.ReutersBodies said to be victims of Syrian pro-government forcesReutersSmoke rises from Al Khalidieh near Homs, June 8, 2012. Picture taken June 8, 2012ReutersAhmad Sadek, a 13-year-old Syrian boy, receives medical treatment from a nurse in a government hospital in Tripoli, North Lebanon June 4, 2012. According to hospital officials, Ahmad was wounded four days ago during shelling by government forces in the town of Qusair in Syria.ReutersThe body of Abed Al-Razaq Al-Zubi, whom protesters say was killed by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, is seen before his funeral in Deraa June 8, 2012.Reuters
The violence in Syria has seared the world's conscience. Despite diplomatic efforts and peace offensives, the conflict seems never-ending.
What started as a peaceful demonstration against President Bashar al-Assad has gradually turned into an armed insurgency.
According to Amnesty International, the number of deaths over 14 months of the uprising is more than 10,000 but could be considerably higher.
It cited several cases torture where children were beaten with electric cables, burnt with cigarettes and even subjected to electric shock by pro-government soldiers.
Reports from human rights organisations also speak of sexual violence against men, women and children in Syria.
Shelling and bombings have rocked Hama, Homs, Houla and Damascus as the UN warned that the uprising had tipped Syria into full-scale civil war, as the Assad's forces try to recapture swathes of cities taken by rebel troops.
Both the rebels and the government forces have been blaming each other for the non-stop violence over the year.
The UN-brokered ceasefire was ineffective and the UN deployed 300 unarmed observers in the region. Their presence did nothing to assuage the violence.
Several nations including the US, France and Australia have been advocating military intervention but Assad's key allies Russia and China have been opposing the proposal.
