SYRIAN SECURITY forces opened fire at a funeral procession in the town of Khan Sheikhoun during a visit from UN observers, according to activists.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that up to 20 people may have been killed in the attack, which the group’s head Rami Abdul-Rahman described as “a real massacre and it took place in the presence of UN observers”.
Minutes later, a roadside bomb exploded, damaging one of the observer mission’s cars.
This video posted online shows the vehicle (to the left of the screen) sustain damage, before the convoy sped away from the scene
(warning: while there are no graphic images in this video, viewers may find some of the images shown in the YouTube menu which comes on screen at the end of this video disturbing):
(Video uploaded by freeSyriaEnglish2011)
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is calling on the UN observer mission to investigate today’s attack on the funeral and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The mission confirmed that one of its vehicles was struck by a bomb and that three were damaged in the explosion, but said that there were no injuries in the attack.
Last week, a roadside bomb struck a Syrian security vehicle shortly after the UN mission had driven by.
The UN estimates that more than 9,000 people have died in the violence that erupted in March 2011 after demonstrators inspired by the Arab Spring movement in Egypt and Tunisia called for political reforms.
The UN mission is in Syria to observe adherence to a ceasefire agreement brokered by UN and Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan.
- Additional reporting by the AP
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