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+UNITED NATIONS � The U.N. Security Council on Sunday blamed the Syrian government for attacking residential areas of the town of Houla with artillery and tank shelling and also condemned the close-range killings of civilians there � but avoided saying who was responsible for the massacre of more than 100 men, women and children.
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+The council said in a press statement after an emergency meeting that the �outrageous use of force� against civilians violated international law and Syrian government commitments under previous U.N. resolutions to stop all violence, including the use of heavy weapons in populated areas. It said �those responsible for acts of violence must be held accountable.�
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+It demanded that the Syrian government immediately halt the use of heavy weapons and pull its troops out of cities and towns, and it asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. observer mission in Syria to continue investigating the attacks in Houla. Ban, in a letter to the council, called for �a transparent, independent and impartial international investigation.�
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+Britain and France had proposed issuing a press statement condemning the attack on civilians and pointing the finger at the Syrian government for Friday�s massacre. But Russia called for an emergency council meeting saying it first wanted a briefing by Gen. Robert Mood, the head of the unarmed U.N. observer mission.
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+After Mood�s briefing, Germany�s U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig said �there is a clear footprint of the government in the massacre.�
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+Britain�s U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said no circumstances justify the use of heavy weapons, which Mood confirmed. �The fact is that this is an atrocity and it was perpetrated by the Syrian government,� he said.
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+But Russia�s deputy U.N. ambassador Alexander Pankin said �it still remains unclear what happened and what triggered what.�
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+�It�s difficult to imagine that the Syrian government would not only shell and mortar but also use point-blank execution against 40 plus women and 30 plus children under age 10,� he said. �This is definitely the atrocity that has to be investigated.�
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+Russia, which considers Syria its closest Mideast ally, has used its Security Council veto power to block resolutions raising the possibility of U.N. action against President Bashar Assad. The assault on Houla was one of the bloodiest single events in Syria�s 15-month uprising against Assad�s regime.
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+While a Security Council press statement is weaker than a presidential statement, which becomes part of the council record, or a legally binding U.N. resolution, it must be approved by all 15 members and therefore reflects strong council backing.
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+�We got a very strong statement and strong support from the Security Council,� U.S. deputy ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo told AP. �I think it�s very clear that everyone is absolutely appalled at the atrocities that took place and the council understands we need to be unified in this regard.�
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+The Syrian government on Sunday denied responsibility for the Houla massacre, blaming the killings on �hundreds of heavily armed gunmen� who also attacked soldiers in the area.