Syria unrest: Kofi Annan shocked at Tremseh 'atrocities'

UN and Arab League envoy for Syria Kofi Annan has said he is "shocked and appalled" at reports of mass killings in the Syrian village of Tremseh.

The UN said it had confirmed intense fighting including the use of tanks, helicopters and heavy artillery.

Syrian state media claimed "terrorist groups" had massacred civilians, but activists blamed government forces and said 200 people had died.

Later accounts suggested many of dead were rebel fighters.

If the death toll in Tremseh is confirmed, it would be the bloodiest single event in the Syrian conflict.

Residents of the village, in Hama province, told activists it was attacked with helicopter gunships and tanks, and later by the pro-government Shabiha militia, who carried out execution-style killings.

The Sana news agency gave a different account on Friday, saying: "The bloodthirsty media in collaboration with gangs of armed terrorists massacred residents of Tremseh village... to sway public opinion against Syria and its people and provoke international intervention on the eve of a UN Security Council meeting."

The latest reports of a massacre, at Tremseh, have yet to be documented by activists with the kind of gruesome images of dead women and children that shocked the world after the killings at Houla two months ago.

So far, video posted on the internet has shown fewer than 20 victims at Tremseh, all of them young men. But UN observers have verified that government forces used tanks, artillery and helicopters.

The government has accused the opposition of staging the incident to rally world opinion against it at another crucial juncture in international diplomacy over Syria.

Whatever the truth about the scale of the carnage and who was responsible, the event has clearly had a political impact - but probably not enough to change the diplomatic stand-off at the UN, where Russia is again saying it will veto any Western resolution seeking to impose sanctions.

The mandate for the UN's observer mission to Syria expires on 20 July and council members are locked in debate about a new resolution, which must be passed before the deadline if the mission is to be renewed.

Reacting to the events in Tremseh, Mr Annan said: "I am shocked and appalled by news coming out of the village of Tremseh, near Hama, of intense fighting, significant casualties, and the confirmed use of heavy weaponry such as artillery, tanks and helicopters.

"I condemn these atrocities in the strongest possible terms."

He said the government had violated the six-point peace plan it agreed to earlier this year.

Mr Annan said UN observers were ready to travel to Tremseh to investigate the killings.

The head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (Unsmis), Maj Gen Robert Mood, said this could only take place "when there is a credible ceasefire".

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said UN observers must be allowed access to Tremseh "quickly and without hindrance" and called for "decisive diplomatic action" to end the violence.

It is unclear what sparked the violence in Tremseh.

Early accounts from activists said government forces surrounded the village on Thursday in a bid to retake it from the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Troops bombarded Tremseh for several hours before pro-government militias from nearby Alawite villages moved in, killing many more villagers and setting fire to houses, activists said.

Others who tried to flee through fields were also gunned down, they claimed.

But later, activists told the AFP news agency that rebel fighters had attacked an army convoy, but were beaten back and many were killed in a counter-attack.

"At this stage, though we do not yet have the final count, the number of civilians killed by shelling is not more than seven," said Jaafar, an activist from the anti-regime Sham News Network.

"The rest were members of the Free Syrian Army."

Activists have posted a video they say shows the bodies of a number of men and boys killed in Tremseh.

State media said gunmen from armed terrorist groups had attacked Tremseh in the morning, shooting dead dozens of people.

Reports of casualties often cannot be independently verified, as Syria severely restricts journalists' freedom of movement.

Some 16,000 people are thought to have been killed since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime began in March 2011.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal on Thursday quoted intelligence reports as suggesting that Syria was moving its chemical weapons, amid fears the government could use them against rebels or civilians.

Are you in Hama province? Have you been affected by the attack in Tremseh? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.

Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

If you are happy to be contacted by a BBC journalist please leave a telephone number that we can contact you on. In some cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name as you provide it and location, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. When sending us pictures, video or eyewitness accounts at no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions.

Terms and conditions