DPA
More than 80 people, among them women and children, have been killed in the Syrian province of Hama, according to activists.
The massacre took place in the villages of al-Qubair and Maarzaf on the eve of high-profile meetings at the UN and in Turkey.
Women and children were stabbed and at least 12 bodies were burned, activists in the area reported. They blamed thugs linked to president Bashar al-Assad.
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Rami Abdel Rahaman, the spokesman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the area was heavily shelled before the attacks.
The Syria government has denied responsibility.
Activists reported that 42 people were killed in violence in other parts of the country.
According to the Dubai-based al Arabiya channel, only four residents of al-Qubair survived the massacre.
The attack came a day before international mediator Kofi Annan was to address the UN General Assembly and the Security Council on the progress of his six-point peace plan.
At high-level talks in Istanbul, the US and its allies in Europe, Turkey and the Arab world have agreed to work on a political transition plan for Syria.
They hope to persuade Assad's ally Russia to join a broadened diplomatic effort to ease the embattled leader out of power, a senior US official said on Wednesday night.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to the official, outlined a set of principles to guide the post-Assad transition strategy.
But with neither Russia nor China present, and both remaining hostile to the idea of global sanctions against the Syrian government or Libya-style military intervention, it was unclear what effect the show of unity might produce.
"Given the continuing horrific violence, including today in Lattakia and in Hama, the group obviously talked about increasing the pressure on the Assad regime and those who still support it," said a senior State Department official who briefed on the private discussions.
The officials will return to Turkey next week for talks with Syria's opposition. A full meeting of the Friends of Syria, which includes some 70 governments, will take place on July 6 in Paris.
More than 80 people, among them women and children, have been killed in the Syrian province of Hama, according to activists.
The massacre took place in the villages of al-Qubair and Maarzaf on the eve of high-profile meetings at the UN and in Turkey.
Women and children were stabbed and at least 12 bodies were burned, activists in the area reported. They blamed thugs linked to president Bashar al-Assad.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Rami Abdel Rahaman, the spokesman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the area was heavily shelled before the attacks.
The Syria government has denied responsibility.
Activists reported that 42 people were killed in violence in other parts of the country.
According to the Dubai-based al Arabiya channel, only four residents of al-Qubair survived the massacre.
The attack came a day before international mediator Kofi Annan was to address the UN General Assembly and the Security Council on the progress of his six-point peace plan.
At high-level talks in Istanbul, the US and its allies in Europe, Turkey and the Arab world have agreed to work on a political transition plan for Syria.
They hope to persuade Assad's ally Russia to join a broadened diplomatic effort to ease the embattled leader out of power, a senior US official said on Wednesday night.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to the official, outlined a set of principles to guide the post-Assad transition strategy.
But with neither Russia nor China present, and both remaining hostile to the idea of global sanctions against the Syrian government or Libya-style military intervention, it was unclear what effect the show of unity might produce.
"Given the continuing horrific violence, including today in Lattakia and in Hama, the group obviously talked about increasing the pressure on the Assad regime and those who still support it," said a senior State Department official who briefed on the private discussions.
The officials will return to Turkey next week for talks with Syria's opposition. A full meeting of the Friends of Syria, which includes some 70 governments, will take place on July 6 in Paris.