Syria: Survivors recount horror of Houla massacre

Damascus - Survivors of Houla massacre in Syria recounted their shock and fear as troops loyal to the ruling regime entered into their homes forcibly and killed their families.

According to The BBC, several witnesses said they hid or acted dead to survive.

Many survivors claimed that the Army and the Shabiha Militia carried out the atrocities. The regime has, however, insisted that ''armed terrorists'' had carried out the violent act.
 
"We were in the house, they went in, the shabiha and security, they went in with Kalashnikovs and automatic rifles," a survivor, Rasha Abdul Razaq, said.

UN observers, who visited Taldou village where the massacre happened, said they had found evidence of shelling by government forces.

They also confirmed that the victims, many of whom were children, had been killed in close-range gunfire or knife attacks.

Meanwhile, UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has arrived in Damascus for talks on implementing his peace plan.
 
He said it was a critical moment, adding that he would be having ''serious and frank'' discussions with Assad trying to persuade him to take ''bold steps'' to prove he was serious about peace.

The UK, France and the US have raised diplomatic pressure on the Assad Government against the killings.

At least 10,000 people have died since protests against the Assad regime broke out in March 2011.