UN blames Houla massacre on Syria troops and rebels
Syrian fighters hold their weapons at a checkpoint controlled by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) at Epin, in the north-western province of Idlib, on April 15, 2012. The Syrian government blamed the massacre in Houla on anti-government forces on May 31, 2012, while activists maintained that it was pro-government forces that carried out the killings of 108 people.
An investigation by the United Nations has concluded that both Syrian government troops and rebel forces were responsible for the massacre of 108 people in Houla last May.
According to the BBC, it is considered one of the worst civilian attacks since the uprising began in March 2011.
The Associated Press wrote that the report by the UN Human Rights Council said both groups carried out war crimes and crimes against humanity on the Syrian people.
Nearly half of those killed at Taldou in the Houla area on May 25 were children. Of the 108, 49 children died.
The 102-page UN report said the attacks “indicate the involvement at the highest levels of the armed and security forces and the government,” the AP wrote.
The BBC said investigators spoke to almost 700 people, including soldiers and civilians.
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Meanwhile, the New York Times reported the Syrian conflict spilled over the border to Lebanon on Wednesday with the kidnapping of 20 Syrians.
The move is believed to be in retaliation for the earlier kidnapping of a Lebanese man by rebels in Damascus, according to the Times.