Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has dismissed accusations his government had anything to do with the recent massacre in Houla, charging forces outside Syria of plotting to destroy the country.
In Mr. Assad's first speech since January – a rare televised address to Syria's new parliament – he appeared to defy a week of mounting international criticism of his ferocious response to the 15-month revolt against his rule.
The Syrian leader denied responsibility for the May 25 incident in Houla that left 108 people dead, including 49 children, saying not even “monsters” would carry out such an act.
He said terrorists have pushed his country into war and promised an uncompromising approach to national security, saying “We do not do this because we like blood. A battle has been forced on us, and the result is this bloodshed that we are seeing.”
Mr. Assad insisted the revolt was the work of foreign-backed extremists – he called it a “war from abroad” – not reformers seeking change.
Officials of the exiled opposition Syrian National Council condemned the president's address, brushing it off as a “desperate and silly speech.” Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, speaking at a joint news conference with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, accused the Syrian leader of “maneuvering” to gain time.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Moscow is awaiting the results of an investigation into the Houla massacre and is “disturbed that some countries went ahead and cast blame.”
Meanwhile, the Syrian conflict continued to spill over into neighboring Lebanon. Government troops deployed in the northern city of Tripoli Sunday after 14 people were killed in the latest clashes between pro- and anti-Assad militiamen.
Residents said relative calm had returned to the Mediterranean city since the soldiers took up positions after gunmen exchanged heavy machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Two people wounded in the fighting died on Sunday, adding to at least 12 killed on Saturday.
Sectarian violence has flared on a number of occasions in Tripoli since the revolt broke out in neighboring Syria last year. The Tripoli violence included street battles in May that left 10 dead.
Syria's uprising began with mostly peaceful protests, but a brutal government crackdown led many in the opposition to take up arms. Now, the conflict has developed into an armed insurgency with the rebel Free Syrian Army pledging to topple Mr. Assad's government.
The Syrian leader's speech came a day after Arab League leaders met in Doha for an emergency session with U.N. and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.
Mr. Annan said the “specter of all-out war” in Syria grows by the day. He said recent atrocities show the conflict is quickly spiraling out of control.
The Arab League has called for the U.N. Security Council to replace its almost 300 monitors in Syria with peacekeepers.
Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked with her Russia counterpart Sergei Lavrov about working together to help Syrians with their political transition strategy.
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