Al-Maqdisi, al-Jaafari Condemn Accusations in Houla Massacre
Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Jihad al-Maqdisi strictly denied that the Syrian forces are responsible for the massacre that occurred in Houla, in Syria's Homs Province.
In a Sunday press conference, al-Maqdisi condemned sides who accused the Syrian forces of conducting the crime, stressing that no regime tanks or artillery entered Houla town. He reaffirmed that hundreds of gunmen who were armed with many weapons, attacked the Houla area after assembling in various areas in a planner manner.
"The law-enforcement members never left their positions and were in a state of self-defense," al-Maqdisi added.
''We've talked to the Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the authorities concerned to put us in the picture of what happened in Houla,'' said al-Maqdisi.
''It has been confirmed that hundreds of gunmen gathered at 2:00 o'clock on Friday afternoon , using Pick-up cars loaded with up-to-date and heavy weapons, like mortars, machineguns and anti-tank missiles, which are newly used in the confrontation with the state forces," the Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokesman iterated.
On this level, al-Maqdisi promised that a military judicial committee was formed to conduct investigation and the results will be announced in three days.
He went on to say, ''We regret that foreign ministers of some countries have rushed to level baseless accusations in such forums as the UN Security Council and the EU, based on statements by opposition figures or biased media.''
Moreover, regarding the kidnapped Lebanese, al-Maqdisi stated, ''We heard that there was a phone call between the Turkish authorities and the Lebanese foreign minister [...]. We condemn this act and Syria will spare no effort to offer help in this regard.''
Also on the same level, Syria's Permanent Representative at the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, asserted that the Houla massacre is a horrible, unjustifiable crime, further reflecting the Syrian government's condemnation.
Furthermore, he condemned the "tsunami of lies", as he called it, from some UN Security Council members in an attempt to mislead the facts.
"Neither UN observer mission head Maj. Gen. Robert Mood or anybody else told the Security Council in the informal session that he would blame the Syrian government forces for what happened. It is really pitiful and regrettable that some members of the council came out just a few minutes after Gen. Mood had finished his briefing, to mislead you, to tell you lies about what happened," he added.
Al-Jaafari indicated that "after attacking military and law-enforcement forces, the gunmen started to kill civilians then they moved to another village where they burned the national hospital, houses and the farmers' harvests after which they murdered dozens of innocent civilians in another village near Houla which is al-Shumariyeh."
"So, we are not talking about one accident, but we are talking about a series of operations that took place in small villages in the region," a-Jaafari went on to say.
In this context, he called upon the states and countries who are backing the opposition, or in other words, the terrorist attacks, and stated, "Those who are very interested in halting violence and making comprehensive national dialogue in Syria a success, should stop interfering in our internal affairs and should stop arming, hosting, funding and protecting the armed terrorist groups in our country."
Source: SANA, Edited by moqawama.org
