The United Nations Security Council denounced Syria's military for heavy shelling in the town of Houla that killed dozens of civilians on Friday, but the government denied its armed forces are responsible for the massacre.
The UN Security Council said Sunday that Syrian forces are to blame for artillery and tank shelling in Houla that left more than 100 people dead, including 49 children.
After an emergency session Sunday afternoon that was called in the wake of Friday's attack, the council issued a press statement calling the shelling "an outrageous use of force" against civilians. The council said the action violated international law, as well as obligations the Syrian government has under Security Council resolutions to cease violence.
The statement also "condemned the killing of civilians by shooting at close range and by severe physical abuse" in Houla. However, the statement did not assign blame for the close-range attacks.
The massacre at Houla was one of the bloodiest events in Syria's 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Opposition forces have blamed the attack on a militia aligned to the Assad regime, claiming Syrian security forces shelled the village prior to the assault.
The Syrian government denied involvement in the massacre at a Sunday news conference in Damascus, saying its forces also came under attack by a heavily armed group of gunmen.
"We categorically deny the responsibility of government forces for the massacre," Foreign Minister Jihad Makdissi said.
Makdissi said the Syrian government was being swamped by a "tsunami of lies."
He said the gunmen carrying "machine-guns, mortars and anti-tank missiles" also launched a simultaneous attack against five army positions starting around 2 p.m. Saturday.
Three soldiers were killed and 16 wounded, he said.
"There were no Syrian tanks or artillery in the vicinity" of Houla, Makdissi said, adding the attackers used anti-tank missiles and "Syrian troops retaliated in defence of their positions."
"Children, women and other innocent people were killed in their homes, and this is not what the Syrian army does," Makdissi said. "The method of killing was brutal."
At Sunday's Security Council meeting, council members heard details of the massacre that killed more than 100 people from the head of the UN observer mission.
During the meeting, the Russian envoy had questioned whether Syrian tanks and artillery were responsible for the killings.
Russia's deputy UN Ambassador Alexander Pankin told reporters before heading into the closed-door meeting that "there is substantial ground to believe that the majority of those who were killed were either slashed, cut by knives, or executed at point-blank distance."
Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, head of the observer mission, told the council that UN observers at the scene now estimate that about 108 people were killed in Houla, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told reporters outside the council chamber.
On Saturday Mood stated that more than 32 children under the age of 10 were among the dead, however that number rose to 49 on Sunday. Mood also said Saturday that the observers confirmed from examination of ordnance found at the scene that artillery and tank shells were fired.
Sunday's council statement called on the Syrian government to stop using heavy weapons and to pull its troops out of the cities and towns in which they are stationed. The statement also asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN observers in Syria to continue probing the Houla attacks.
In a letter to the council, Ban called for "a transparent, independent and impartial international investigation."
In his letter, Ban said UN observers found 85 corpses in a mosque in Taldou and "observed shotgun wounds and wounds consistent with artillery fire," when they visited the area on Saturday. Ban also said observers noticed "fresh tank tracks" and artillery and tank shells. They reported that many buildings had been completely destroyed.
On Saturday, Ban and his predecessor Kofi Annan, the joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, issued a statement condemning the "indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force" in violation of international law and Syrian commitments to stop using heavy weapons in populated areas. They demanded that the Syrian government stop using such weapons.
Earlier Sunday, Britain and France proposed issuing a statement condemning the massacre, but Russia refused.
Russia has emerged as Syria's strongest ally, and along with China, has used its veto powers to block UN sanctions against the country.
After Sunday's meeting, Pankin said "it still remains unclear what happened and what triggered what.
"It's difficult to imagine that the Syrian government would not only shell and mortar but also use point-blank execution against 40-plus women and 30-plus children under age 10," he said. "This is definitely the atrocity that has to be investigated."
But Germany's UN Ambassador Peter Wittig emerged from the meeting to say that "there is a clear footprint of the government in the massacre."
Britain's UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant was just as firm, saying: "The fact is that this is an atrocity and it was perpetrated by the Syrian government."
Annan to lead talks
In other developments Sunday, Syria denied entry to a top aide of Annan, who is due to arrive Monday for talks in Damascus.
A Syrian official said the decision against former Palestinian foreign minister Nasser al-Kidwa isn't personal, but that the government doesn't want to deal with the Arab League.
The League suspended Syria's membership and approved sanctions against it last year. The Syrian regime has accused it of being a tool of the West.
The official spoke to The Associated Press Sunday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Lyall Grant said Sunday that when Annan visits Damascus on Monday, he will be "looking at the circumstances in which a political dialogue can be launched."
The Security Council will meet Tuesday on Middle East issues, and expects to hear a briefing from Annan on Wednesday.
Lyall Grant said council members must have "a serious, strategic discussion" about what comes next to aid Annan as he continues to try to implement his shaky six-pint peace plan.
More than 9,000 people have died in the uprising in the last 15 months, according to the UN.
With files from The Associated Press
