We had no role in massacre says Assad

In a televised speech to parliament yesterday, Assad said his country is facing a “real war” and blamed terrorists and extremists for the bloodshed.

He expressed horror over last week’s massacre in the central Houla region, which killed more than 100 people, nearly half of them children.

“If we don’t feel the pain that squeezes our hearts, as I felt it, for the cruel scenes – especially the children – then we are not human beings,” Assad said in his first comments on the massacre. His last public address was in January.

Assad, 46, denies that there is a popular will behind the uprising, saying foreign extremists and terrorists are driving the revolt.

His remarks suggest he is still standing his ground, despite widespread international condemnation over his deadly crackdown on dissent. His words reflected many of the same general points of his previous speeches – blaming terrorists and extremists, vowing to protect national security – and his comments on Houla were widely anticipated.

“We have to fight terrorism for the country to heal,” Assad said. “We will not be lenient. We will be forgiving only for those who renounce terrorism.”

The opposition and the government have exchanged accusations over the Houla killings, each blaming the other. UN investigators have said there are strong suspicions that pro-regime gunmen are responsible for at least some of the killings.

In yesterday’s speech, Assad ridiculed protesters over their calls for freedom.

“This freedom that they called for has turned into the (human) remains of our sons and this democracy that they talked about is now drowning in our blood,” he said.

The revolt began last March with mostly peaceful protests, but a ferocious government crackdown led many in the opposition to take up arms.