Satellite images offer evidence of mass graves in Houla
Photos published by US ambassador to Syria also reveal artillery impact craters near civilian areas
US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford posted new images, on a government website, reportedly showing mass graves dug following last week’s massacre near the town of Houla, in Syria.
Ford, currently in the US due to suspension of the embassy’s operations, wrote, “The May 25 massacre in the village of Tall Daww, Haoula is the most unambiguous indictment of the regime to date and clearly illustrates Syrian government’s flagrant violations of its UN Security Council obligations.
The images, said to be taken earlier this week by a commercial satellite, shows a May 18 photo of a square in Tall Daww, Haoula, side-by-side with a May 28 image of the same square. The dotted area in the May 28, 2012 image shows that the ground had been recently disturbed.
United Nations observers confirmed the deaths of more than 90 people, including at least 30 children under the age of 10, after a military assault involving tanks and artillery. It has also been widely reported that many families were summarily executed, by short-range shots, in their homes. The Syrian government has blamed the actions on terrorist groups.
Other photos posted on the site show artillery craters near residential neighborhoods and artillery batteries deployed near the city of Homs.
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