The pitiful face of Syria's suffering: Terribly injured girl whose brother was killed in bombing of Homs could now lose sight
- America and Britain close their embasies in Damascus
- William Hague summons the Syrian ambassador to the Foreign Office
- Syrian forces resume bombing of rebel city after weekend massacre
- Rebels claim hospital run by anti-government forces is main target
- David Cameron: 'There is a tragedy unfolding in that country'
- Homs residents fear ground invasion by troops is imminent
- 300 people killed in the city during weekend of violence
By Daily Mail
Face masked by bandages, she is the tiny victim of a brutal massacre.
Now, lying in a makeshift bed, she pleads with Allah to punish the men who killed her brother and may cost her her sight.
The child, believed to be about five, was one of scores of civilians to be injured during the bombing of the rebel city of Homs by Syrian government troops yesterday.
A video which surfaced online appears to show her being carried through the streets by her distraught father.
She was treated for her injuries - including a leg wound too horrific to show - but it is unclear what hope she has of recovery.
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Senseless: The girl's heavily-bandaged head clearly indicates the severity of her injuries
Still in danger: Helicopters and tanks are today attacking Homs, leading residents to fear an 'imminent' ground invasion by government forces
Desperate circumstances: The girl sits in a makeshift bed in a building which has provided a temporary refuge for her family
Speaking from her bed today, she said: 'God is greater than you Bashar (the Syrian president). May God deprive you of your children like you deprived me of my brother. What did we do that made you do this to us?'
Today, as Syrian forces continued to bombard Homs with shells raining down every 30 seconds,
Britain and America both withdrew their ambassadors from the city of Damascus.
In a statement to the House of Commons, William Hague said that he had also summoned the Syrian ambassador in London to the Foreign Office to make clear its 'abhorrence' at the violence in the country.
He condemned President Bashar Assad's 'doomed' and 'murdering' regime and was highly critical of China and Russia for vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at ending the bloodshed.
Mr Hague said their actions were a 'betrayal of the Syrian people' and increased the likelihood of civil war.
'The human suffering in Syria is already unimaginable and is in grave danger of escalating further,' he said. He confirmed that the British ambassador Simon Collins has been withdrawn.
'We will use our remaining channels to the Syrian regime to make clear our abhorrence at the violence that is utterly unacceptable to the civilised world,' he went on.
'The position taken by Russia and China has regrettably made this more likely.
'However this Government, this House, and our country and our allies will not forget the people of Syria.
'We will redouble our efforts to put pressure on this appalling regime and to stop this indefensible violence.'
Innocent victim: A Syrian man holds a girl who activists say was seriously wounded in the Baba Amr neighbourhood of Homs by shells fired by regime forces on Saturday
Russia and China were the only two nations on the 15-strong Security Council to vote against the Arab League-backed resolution.
Mr Hague said: 'They chose to side with the Syrian regime and implicitly to leave the door open to further abuses by them.
'They did so while President Assad's tanks were encircling Homs and shells were pounding the homes of Syrian civilians, killing up to 200 people, and on the 30th anniversary of the massacre in Hama.
Pulling out: America closed its embassy in Damascus
'We regard this veto as a grave error of judgment by the governments of China and Russia.
'There is no need to mince words about this. Russia and China have twice vetoed reasonable and necessary action by the United Nations Security Council.
'Such vetoes are a betrayal of the Syrian people. In deploying them, they have let down the Arab League, they have increased the likelihood of what they wish to avoid in Syria - civil war - and they have placed themselves on the wrong side of Arab and international opinion.'
Mr Hague said that Britain and other nations would consider a resolution at the UN General Assembly, in the absence of a UN Security Council resolution.
As diplomatic pressure intensified, Syrian forces continued to bombard Homs with shells, raining down every 30 seconds.
The attack, which residents claim is aimed at a makeshift hospital run by anti-government forces, has not lapsed since it began at 6am local time.
Activists inside Syria claim that more than 50 people have been killed.
Helicopters and tanks are also attacking Homs, leading residents to fear an 'imminent' ground invasion by government forces.
A British national who has gone to the country to provide humanitarian aid said that the situation is desperate.
Speaking to ITV news from the makeshift hospital in Homs, he said that bodies were being brought in in pieces because they had been hit by heavy artillery. He said many were unrecognisable.
The international community continued to condemn Syria's actions with the U.S. government closing its embassy in Damascus and pulling all its diplomats out.
The mood inside the city is that a final showdown is just hours away. One anti-government protester, known only as Omar, told the BBC: 'This battle will be the last battle.'
The bloodshed comes one day after President Assad's government vowed to continue its crackdown on the nearly 11-month-old uprising.
Under fire: A still taken from a video uploaded on YouTube shows the aftermath of an attack by Syrian government forces on a makeshift hospital, run by anti-government rebels, in Homs this morning
Brutal: Smoke billows from the Baba Amr neighbourhood after it was bombarded by Syrian troops
It comes two days after another heavy bombardment that claimed the lives of more than 200 people in a single day, the deadliest incident of the uprising so far.
As many as 300 people have been killed in Homs over the weekend.
The regime of President Bashar el-Assad denied any bombardment took place.
William Hague yesterday warned Russia and China that the blood of Syrian protesters will be on their hands for failing to stand up to the ‘murdering’ regime.
The Foreign Secretary could not conceal his anger following their decision to veto a UN resolution calling for al-Assad's resignation.
He said Moscow and Beijing would be ‘held responsible’ for what happens in Syria and that he could not understand their support for a ‘doomed regime as well as a murdering regime’. He warned the veto marked ‘an hour of shame’ for the UN.
His remarks were echoed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said the veto was a ‘travesty’ and called for the ‘friends of democratic Syria’ to unite against al-Assad.
Human rights groups say at least 7,000 people have died since the uprising began in March.
A draft resolution condemning Syria was supported by 13 of the 15 UN Security Council members when it was put to a vote on Saturday, meaning it was not adopted.
It was the second time in four months that Russia has obstructed a resolution condemning Syria.
Mr Hague said yesterday: ‘Increasingly, Russia and China will be held responsible for this continuing appalling situation.
‘They are standing in the way of the UN Security Council taking a clear position, backing a very good plan for the way forward by the Arab League. It will have consequences for their influence in the Middle East. They are turning their backs on the Arab world.
‘Russia and China are very isolated in the indefensible position they have taken up.’
The Foreign Secretary also warned that al-Assad could step up his reprisals against anti-government protesters. ‘Will he have been emboldened by the fact that Russia and China vetoed the resolution?’ he said.
‘Yes, I think so and I think it does mean that Russia and China do bear increasingly, as these events continue, increased responsibility for what is happening.’
Mourners gather around the coffins of the victims who were killed on Saturday by the bombardment of mortars and rockets during a mass funeral procession in the Khaldiyeh district of Homs
Bodies laid out for burial. Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution to condemn Syria and thus was not adopted, both to the U.S. and UK's lament
Mrs Clinton, on a visit to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, this weekend, echoed Mr Hague’s comments.
‘What happened at the United Nations was a travesty,’ she said.
‘We will work to expose those who are still funding the regime and sending it weapons to be used against defenceless Syrians, including women and children.’
An Al Qaeda leader who allegedly masterminded the July 7, 2005 London bombings has reportedly been freed from a Syrian jail.
Abu Musab al-Suri, who is also wanted in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings, was apparently released in Aleppo, near the Turkish border, last week.
His release has been interpreted as a warning to the United States and Britain over their failure to support al-Assad during the Syrian uprisings.
END
I hope the closures of the Embassies mean some sort of action will be taken, though I doubt it. Look how long they all talked and discussed when Gadaffi was murdering his people. So many lives could have been saved because of these delays.
Maybe Britain and France will go in alone as they did in Libya and ignore the UN and the US. Sadly they may not be able to afford it, in this present world economic climate. Military Actions and Wars are very expensive.