Syrian Opposition Blames Regime for Village Deaths

[Time]

(BEIRUT) — Syria's main opposition group on Friday accused President Bashar Assad's regime of committing a "large-scale massacre" in a Sunni village near the Mediterranean coast, killing at least 50 people, according to activists. Syrian troops backed by pro-government gunmen on Thursday swept into Bayda, a village in the mountains outside the city of Banias, and killed men, women and children and torched homes, according to The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (PHOTOS: The Syrian Civil War: Photographs by Alessio Romenzi) The Observatory documented the names of at least 50 dead, but said as many as 100 might have been killed. The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, cited witnesses as saying that some of the victims were killed with knives or blunt objects and that dozens of villagers were missing. In a statement, the opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition, said: "Reports now confirm a large-scale massacre in Bayda. Initial reports confirm that Assad's forces were directly involved" in the violence in the area. "It is time for the world to intervene and put an end to the grievous crimes of the Assad regime," the Cairo-based opposition group said, urging the international community to act and protect Syrian civilians. In a video that the Observatory sent to the media on Friday, at least seven men and boys wearing civilian clothes are seen lying in pools of blood in front of a house. The caption on the video says "the first images of executions in Bayda." A woman touching the body of one of the men can be heard saying, "Don't fall asleep. Don't move." Referring to a Muslim pronouncement of faith before death, she tells him to say "There is no god, but Allah." As the camera pans bloodied bodies on the ground, another woman is heard screaming, "Where are you, people of the village?" The video appears genuine and consistent with reporting by The Associated Press from the area. The Syrian troops were still in Bayda village on Friday, conducting house

Via: TIME GlobalSpin