An opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) said on Saturday it would not adhere to the peace plan, brokered by the UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, unless the UN Security Council ensures safety for civilians, Al Jazeera reported.
"We announce that unless the UN Security Council takes urgent steps for the protection of civilians, Annan's plan is going to go to hell," Al Jazeera cited the FSA’s statement.
The statement comes the next day after the deadliest act of violence in Houla, a town in Homs province, where over 90 people were reported to be killed by the pro-government forces.
"Some of the victims were hit by heavy artillery while others, entire families, were massacred," Al Jazeera quoted the Syrian National Council's head of foreign relations, Bassma Kodmani as saying.
The city was shelled by the troops loyal to the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during the anti-government rally, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The state-run SANA news agency however said that it was al-Qaeda-linked militant group that was behind the attack on Houla.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the massacre on Saturday, saying that it was necessary "to move swiftly to ensure that those responsible are identified and held to account."
Syria's UN mission chief, General Robert Mood called the Friday's killings "brutal tragedy" that could “create more instability, more unpredictability and may lead country to civil war.”
Houla’s slaughter came as the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council that the situation in Syria “remains extremely serious” and UN efforts to end the political crisis in the country have seen only “small progress.”
Although the scale of violence has decreased compared to the period before April 12, when U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan six-point plan was implemented in the country, “the Syrian army has not ceased the use of, or pulled back their heavy weapons in many areas,” Ban said on Friday.
According to unconfirmed reports by Syrian activists, more than 12,600 people have been killed in Syria since a revolt against Assad’s regime started in March last year. The U.N. says up to 10,000 have been killed.
