The U.N. Security Council convened a special session on Monday night to discuss the worsening situation in Syria, in response to reports that dozens of civilians were killed in clashes in the Syrian city of Hama. The session was organized at the request of German and Italian representatives. No concrete decision was reached at the meeting. A few hours prior to the meeting, Amnesty International made the unusual move of calling on the council to utilize its power. In a letter, the group wrote, "The council must react immediately to the ongoing suppression [in Syria] and bring the incidents in question before the International Court for investigation." U.S. President Barack Obama added that he to was "shaken by the terrible events." Russia also condemned the killings, as did the European Union, which choose to freeze the assets of five top-level Syrian officials "involved in the violent repression." At the same time, however, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague, clearly indicated that military intervention in Syria at present is not the agenda. "There exists not even the slightest possibility," Hague said. In Syria, President Bashar Assad addressed the riots in a letter drafted to the Syrian Arab Army Journal, intended to mark its 66th anniversary. Assad praised the military, saying, "The armed forces have proven to the world their loyalty to the Syrian people, homeland, and creed. They remain committed to protecting the nation and foiling enemy plans," Assad continued. "Plots and pressures will only further instill the values of the [Syrian] homeland, and the sons of those who beat Israel in the 1973 war will now achieve a new victory and restore the occupied lands of the Golan Heights to Syria, a Syria that will always probe and support resistance to the Zionists."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon harshly condemned the second round of slaughter in Hama, in which at least 104 people were killed over the weekend. Ban reminded members of the Syrian regime that they are obliged to follow international human rights laws.
