Tunisia Says Silence Will Encourage More Syrian Massacres
World inaction after the killing of more than 100 people, half of them children, in the Syrian town of Houla at the weekend will only encourage Damascus to commit more massacres, Tunisia said Monday.
"Tunisia firmly condemns this horrific carnage and reiterates its call on the international community to give Syria the attention it deserves," said a statement from President Moncef Marzouki's office.
"Silence over the crimes of the Syrian regime will only encourage it to commit more.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has denied responsibility for the death of 108 people, including 49 children and 34 women, in Houla, near Homs.
According to activists however, the Syrian army pounded Houla with artillery fire while pro-regime militia plucked inhabitants from their homes and killed them.
The carnage caused an international outcry and sparked calls for an investigation. It was described by some as a potential turning point in global support for tougher action against Assad.
"There will be no solution with Bashar Assad's regime," the Tunisian presidency said, calling for further efforts to impose a so-called Yemeni scenario in Syria.
Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, stepped down after 33 years in power after an uprising that broke out in January 2011 and left hundreds dead.
He had signed a deal in Riyadh with Yemen's parliamentary opposition forcing him to hand over power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
The Tunisian presidency argued such an outcome would "the only way of preserving Syrian unity and averting foreign military intervention."
The new authorities in Tunisia, where the Arab Spring wave of revolts that inspired opposition demonstrators in Syria was born, have been among the most vocal critics of Assad's regime.
Source: Agence France Presse
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