France says Syria air strikes a possibility

Western states announced on the 29 May 2012 that they were expelling senior Syrian diplomats following the killing of 108 people in the Houla region of Syria on the 25 May 2012.

The United States, France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Switzerland all took action.

Most of the victims in Houla were summarily executed, the UN reported. UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said, after talks with President Bashar al-Assad, Syria was at a 'tipping point'.

• Primary Source

EU: EEAS: Press Release, A238/12: Statement by the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on Syria http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/130459.pdf

EEAS: Countries: Syria and the European Union http://eeas.europa.eu/syria/index_en.htm

BBC News, 29.5.12: Houla deaths: Western states to expel Syrian diplomats http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18252818

Deutsche Welle, 29.5.12: EU countries expel Syrian envoys as Annan holds talks in Damascus http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15982658,00.html

EUObserver, 30.5.12: EU justifies keeping Syrian ambassador in good books http://euobserver.com/24/116428

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