1. 16 updates

West expels Syrian diplomats

Western countries are expelling senior Syrian diplomats in response to the massacre of 108 people in Houla in Syria on Friday.

Live updates

Swedish foreign minster says EU keep 'common approach' on Syrian diplomats

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt has said that he believes the EU should maintain a "common approach" towards Syria.

Advertisement

Bulgaria expels Syrian diplomat

Bulgaria is expelling Syria's Charge d'Affaires as part of an international response to the massacre of civilians in the Syrian village of Houla, its Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

In a statement the ministry said:

Salah Soukkar will be informed today that he has to leave Bulgaria in the next 72 hours

Two other diplomats at the Syrian embassy will also be expelled and Bulgarian mission will temporarily close in Damascus and its diplomats will return.

U.S. holds Syrian Government responsible for 'the slaughter of innocent lives'

The United States has confirmed that it has expelled the Syrian Charge d'Affaires. The State Department has issued the following statement:

In response to the May 25 massacre in the village of Haoula, today the United States has decided to expel Syrian Charge d'Affaires Zuheir Jabbour from the country. We took this action in coordination with partner countries including Australia, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Germany.

United Nations observers confirmed the deaths of more than 90 people, including at least 30 children under the age of 10, after the vicious assault involving tanks and artillery - weapons that only the regime possesses. There are also reports that many families were summarily executed in their homes by regime forces.

We hold the Syrian government responsible for this slaughter of innocent lives. This massacre is the most unambiguous indictment to date of the Syrian government's flagrant violations of its UN Security Council obligations under Resolutions 2042 and 2043.

We encourage all countries to condemn the actions of the Assad regime through similar action.

Advertisement

Turkish PM: There is a limit to patience with Syria

The Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the killing of at least 108 civilians in the Syrian town of Houla on Friday and said there was a limit to the world's patience over ending the bloodshed:

To carry out this kind of murder, to shamefully murder 50 innocent children, 110 innocent civilians, while the United Nations observer mission is carrying out its mission in Syria ... is torture, it is wretched. There is also a limit to patience, and I believe that, God willing, there is also a limit to the patience in the UN Security Council.

Load more updates Back to top

Latest ITV News reports