The latest massacre began with a military bombardment of the village of Tremsi. After the heavy artillery and shelling, villagers said pro-government militia men swept in to kill at close range. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
A U.S. official confirmed Friday that the Syrian regime has been moving elements of its chemical weapons stockpile in recent days, an action that has U.S. officials both concerned and perplexed.
"We don't know why" they have begun moving chemical weapons from storage, the source said, refusing to speculate whether President Bashar Assad's regime could be preparing to use the weapons on the civilian uprising.
Asked whether there is concern that the weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists, the source said the United States still believes the chemical weapons are "secure" and under the control of the Assad regime.
Syrian Ali Bakran, an air conditioning repair man by trade, has turned into a militia commander to fight against the leader of his home country, Bashar al-Assad. After being fired upon while peacefully protesting, Bakran left his job and formed a citizen's militia. NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel journeys inside Syria.
Separately, Pentagon press secretary George Little said if the Assad regime were to use chemical weapons on civilians it would cross a "serious red line."
"We would, of course, caution them strongly against any intention to use those weapons," Little said.
More than 200 killed in Syria massacre, activists say
While details of Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons remains a mystery, the United States believes the regime has significant quantities of sarin nerve agent, mustard gas and cyanide.
Opposition activists said Friday that more than 200 Syrians were massacred in a village in the Hama region on Thursday in what could prove to be the worst single incident of violence in 16 months of conflict.
Clinton 'outraged' by new Syria massacre
Activists said the incident took place on the eve of the latest U.N. Security Council negotiations on a new resolution on Syria. The United States and its allies said it showed the need for tough action, but Russia ruled out accepting the latest draft.
More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:



As the Bible says; "Those that fabricate the intentions of others will be forced to support the Nation of Israel" (or was it the Koran that said that?)
Hey, WoodHead, I was responding to "Thomas Jefferson", also an Assad apologist like yourself, who posted BEFORE ME: "Hopefully Assad does use them...Less people in that crappy country to burn the American flag later." HE brought up flag burning, I didn't. To say what he said, and what you said, calling all Muslims animals, is such blatant bigotry, it speaks for itself. Funny how you accused Bill Clinton of bigotry, then quickly and effectively outed and exposed yourself as a Class A bigot. Bigots need professional help. One of them caused upwards of 50 million deaths in WW2, convincing many people that one, whole group of people were less than human, and needed killing, as you agreed with "Thom" that all Muslims do. You both would have been taken in by, and would have followed, Hitler, easily! Timothy McVeigh also killed a lot of people, including children. Did you make sure that you therefore are going to judge all Christian white guys by him? Muslim terrorists are such a small percentage of all Muslims. You tunnel-visioned, Tea Party boys don't have the awareness, the I'Q', or the morals to see people as individuals, never mind human beings. Forget therapy, just go join your overwrought, and probably overweight, militia-clad buddies playing their gun games in the woods, who still think that Obama is gonna git yer guns, any minute now! The real men of this country have the moral strength to care about defenseless human beings being mass murdered. Our soldiers in both Gulf Wars helped civilians, the people caught up in the war-men, women and children, all they could. By your own words, you would have blown them away for being Muslims! Quit being Assad apologists, and go opologize to both our soldiers, our vets, and to everyday Muslims. You insulted all of them, not to mention humanity at large.
DebbyinAz,
Kinda like you just insulted, peaceful law abiding gun owners who would never associate themselves with a bunch of Militia Wing Nuts.
Who knows both Christian and Muslims from several different Middle East Nations.
Who's against genocide?
Kinda like that???
I'am sure there is nothing to worry about. Remember the prophet king obama said, "that is just a little country,no worries"! I wish he would make that place one of his golf outings or campaign stops!
How does one get more radical than being a MASS MURDERER??? And how in hell could it get any worse than this?? DAILY MASSACRES, 30-PLUS TORTURE CENTERS, BRUTALITIES THAT RIVAL AUCHVITZ. To say that a change from this could be anything else but better is crackpot mentality. And to Kevin, the whole world is watching Assad COMMITTING MASS GENOCIDE, which tends to "destabilize", not to mention DESTROY a country. When Hitler turned against Germany, once he knew they were losing, he decided (like Assad), to execute his SCORTCHED EARTH POLICY, bombing his own cities, his own people. Assad has totally and purposely destabilized his own country, to wipe off the face of the earth all those who dare to oppose him and hold demonstrations. YOU can spin the truth all YOU want, but racist, violent hate-filled talk, not to mention your falling for the same propaganda Assad keeps (ridiculously, at this point) repeating. It's truly become "The Emperors New Clothes" scenario by now. Like I said, we could take him out in 2, 3 weeks. Any sane person knows we have to intervene in this, with air strikes. Better late than never. Better now than later.
debby,,,Remember that stuff happening in lybia and Irag! George W Bush stopped that and now these idiots kool-aid libtards want to say he is the worst president ever! Do not count on the currant man/child president to do anything now! Remember it is election season and there are too many golf and campaign stops to worry about! Can"t be bothered with genoside! Maybe he will send in a drone or 2!
I think when everyone discusses WMDs in Iraq, they act like they never had them ever. So many in the media convienently forgot about "Chemical Ali" and Husseins use of chemical weapons against the Kurds in Northern Iraq. Then we act like Hussein destroyed them all out of the goodness of his heart before we invaded. Clearly they were sent to Syria and Iran to hold. We clearly know that Syria has chemical weapons. But watch if Romney beats Obama, then afterwards Assad decides to use the chemical weapons to quell the uprising and we attack, the democratic left wing media will claim once again they never existed. That we made it up to invade some new nation again.
Murphey, George W. Bush PROLONGED the Iraq War for years; Obama decided to and DID bring them home, AGAINST THE WISHES OF BUSH, CHEYNEY, AND ALL THE REPUBLICANS WHO CRITISIZED HIM FOR DOING SO. AND, McCAIN WOULD HAVE STAYED THERE HAD HE WON, HE SAID SO. You have conveniently used selective memory, also known as lying, to say the above did not happen. Obama campaigned on ending Iraq, and he kept his promise.Who are you trying to convince, total idiots who never followed recent history, and live in a cave? Even Fox "News" covered the wind-down, and final exit under Obama that ended that war. Oh, and Murphey, the actions we and NATO took that brought down Ghadafi ALSO were done by PRESIDENT OBAMA, not George Bush. Bush was no longer president, but, again, joined Republicans in criticising Obama's and NATO's victory, just as they did his taking down Osama Bin Laden. Obama haters have to lie about history to justify their obsession over the fact that we have an intelligent, decent President who outclasses his detractors, and who HAPPENS to be black. And there is still enough intelligent, decent people who would never fall for the bullsh.t you guys eat up and regurgitate to others. Don't you ever worry about your souls? You can't believe in a just God, or the Christian philosohy you usually claim is yours, and spew the kind of hate and violence that comes out of your mouths.
Umm Debbie we pulled out well we were thrown out of Iraq Obama did try to stay longer but Bush set the pull out date NOT Obama...oh and Debbie Obama signed on to Afghanistan till 2024...one smart man....NOT
Dubbie,,,those drawdowns were set up by Bush a long time before, but he was not the IDIOT to put them on the front page of the ny times as that puke obama does at the threat of death to those who would try to help us get rid of these murderers and rape rooms! Your prophet puke of a president will give away our national secrets for a vote or a stinkin headline and these socialist lib democratic moocher news outlets like mnDNC are just as happy to go along! What brought down "Ghadafi" you dink was the Bush policies that was in place that man/child obama either voted against or voted "present"! What is your prophet doing now??? I'll bet another golf game , campaign stops and white house whoreing party for sure! Where is your soul? obama has as much class as a turd sitting in the hot sun! Why is it libs that want to take religion out of everything and try to talk out of the other side of their mouth when they make a phony twip with it?
Debbie, yes he kept his promise and brought them home, but as everyone warned would happen, Iraq has fallen into chaos without our troops. More Iraqi citizens have died in the months since we pulled out, than in the last 5 years combined. Al Queda very likely has an opportunity to actually overthrow a government and become one it self at this rate.
Oh we are soo afraid by learning about Chemical weapons in Syria from very reliable US source. In Iraq also US correctly predicted WMD/Chemical weapon and thanks to US they had to kill 1 million of population of Iraq to prove that there was not WMD or the same got smuggled out of Iraq. Still search is over and now the same is resurfaced in Syria.
I fear the USA ruling elites would react with more force and mass murder if those ruling masters were fearful of the masses of citizens they rule over.
But, the USA propaganda systems are so very effective that I doubt if a critical mass of citizens would rightfully rebel so the in-place bureaucracies, institutions and the huge number of master-obeying jack-booted thugs could handle any uprising.
The USA cries out for a full-scale military coup to oust the oppressors and start anew.
The problem with Bashar is that he loves chemicals, and is already past the point of no return. He has gone mad!
Assad uses Bath salts that contain amphetamine-like chemicals such as methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), mephedrone, and pyrovalerone. These are designer drugs of the phenethylamine class. He, and his wife, also use amphetamines, mescaline, and ephedrine. Assad prefers the powdered form of MDPV, inhaled, swallowed or shot into a vein. He uses Bath Salts as "cocaine substitutes" or "synthetic LSD".
Better get rid of this guy, ASP, before he massacres thousands of Syrians using real chemical weapons. He has turned into a fun loving cannibal.
I'm not an Assad Fan. However do you have proof???
Their are plenty of main stream drugs he can afford to use. Why use street Drugs.
Just provide proof if your going to put something like that out there. Otherwise you sound as Crazy as he does.
Well I'll Be Dammed,,,,,
We have a country ,with WMD and not a Bush in sight.....
Maybe, Just Maybe, it was true to begin with... after all ask the
The Halabja poison gas attack (Kurdish: Kîmyabarana Helebce), also known as Halabja massacre or Bloody Friday,[1] was a genocidal massacre against the Kurdish people that took place on March 16, 1988, during the closing days of the Iran–Iraq War, when chemical weapons were used by the Iraqi government forces in the Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The attack killed between 3,200 and 5,000 people, and injured around 7,000 to 10,000 more, most of them civilians;[1][2] thousands more died of complications, diseases, and birth defects in the years after the attack.[3] The incident, which has been officially defined as an act of genocide against the Kurdish people in Iraq,[4] was and still remains the largest chemical weapons attack directed against a civilian-populated area in history.[5]
It's time to stop the killing and hand down an ultimatum to the Assad regime , stop now or were coming ! Ask mr. saddam how that worked out for him? The US has been waiting for the regime to come to there senses. Yeh, right! In the history of the human race , what king has ever said , "oh , i'm sorry , i made a mistake here , i'm just going to step down now and give up my indulgent lavish lifestyle, all my beautiful women , clothes , cars , airplanes , the best wine , the best food , the best of everything , all while my people provide for me , and live in squaller all there lives , they dont know any better." Mr. Obama , there must be something we can do and i trust that we are ready to act!
s
how bout we put the chems and thy syrians in the hole, crack a beer and call it a @!$%#in day.........
michael and jason yes we are good at that just attacking people before we know the truth about what's happening and believing every lying story , you want to stop the killing in Syria ??? tell Hillary , McCain , Lieberman and their cronies the Saudis and Qataris to quit arming these Alqaida rebels ( The same people that attacked us on 9/11 ) , that;s who doing all the killing and causing the destruction in Syria , do not believe all these lying report from CNN and all these lying media , hell AL JAZEERA was putting videos and pictures from the Iraqi war and claiming its happening in Syria . you all believe what you want to , I guess you all the same people that believed in the WMD story and the Chemical and Nukes trucks that Saddam had , I wonder what happened to them , OH sorry they are in Syria now , Man I thought we are smarter than that .
Like we can believe the U.S. government on reports of chemical weapons. Sorry guys, already read Chicken Little. Did they steal 'em from Iraq ?
Letty Lane and Murphey- In the word(s) of my late friend Waylon Jennings, WRONG! President Obama set the timetable for Iraq on Feb. 27th, 2009, which was reported by all media including your Fox "news", the very next day. The date of the deadline OBAMA set was August 2010, which would have been at the 7and a half year point in the war. He had campaigned to end it 16 months after taking office, but adjusted the new timetable, on 2-27-09 (look it up, revisionists). BUSH derided ever having ANY timetable, his Cheyney/NWO war machine being so profitable while he tanked the Amercan economy. BUSH shifted his position 4 months before the '08 election and right before the Republican convention, under pressure from his super low favorable numbers with the American people (and the world), and to help John McCain in the coming election. He "accepted" a "concept of an Iraq timetable, which he labeled "a general time horizon". Obama and the MILITARY jointly agreed to set a new exit date of December 2011 to bring the last troops home, WHICH HE DID. BUSH HAD NO REAL TIMETABLE, just a vague phrase to try to help the Republicans win the election. He did not want to end the war. He CRITISIZED Obama for even having a timeline, and for announcing it. Republican Hypocrisy being what it is, Richard Nixon ANNOUNCED he was ending the Vietnam War before (and to win) the '72 election, which HE LIED ABOUT, while he not-so-secretly AND ILLEGALLY bombed the hell out of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the greatest tonnage of bombs dropped in the history of warfare. So much for Republican timelines. You neocons need a 12 step program to heal your warped sense of revisionist history, which is nothing more than parroting the crap you hear on Fox "news".
Now, be sure and focus on the 2 typographical errors I made so you can avoid addressing the facts, facts which are available to all non-brainwashed citizens who are not addicted to believing anything and everything Fox "news" says.
LOL!, You all blame Obama and don't think that Cheney and the other republican Jackasses that helped bush pour Trillions into an ill advised invasion of Iraq so Cheney's company could go in and STEAL the service contacts?. Ameican foreign policy is a front anda scam where everyone is stealing a piece of the pie through no accounting of funds, resources, ect. Stay out of Syria Get out of Afghan and Iraq, Close\protect our borders and restore the billions stolen from social services\eduction and give the average american the same health care you give mllions of citizens of mexico here illegally and we can turn this country around.
Hey, MSN- where are the other 95 comments following mine? You just tallied 165 comments, my last one I posted at 7:59 PM EDT, which is numbered 70. There is only 3 pages listed. WHERE ARE THE 95-plus COMMENTS FOLLOWING MINE?? You deep six people whose comments you don't like, then keep them from accessing the comments following theirs. Wonderful.
Why is page 4 not accessable to me? You stuck one comment after mine, when you claim there are 165 comments in all?? How can I respond to my respondees when there is no page 4??
Must have really pissed off the neocons with their Captain Queeg "logic".
Can't read your comments, folks, and I have a feeling that either you cannot read mine, or I pissed off the "Don't confuse me with the facts!" crowd so much that they are posting something resembling threats. Just want you to know, I'm standin' here! You're a generation of bullies, raised on hate fixed news, hate radio, and an overgrown, hate-obsessed blowhard and pain pill addict. God, I love my generation, and my parent's generation, who fought and triumphed over people who were not unlike the worst of you, in World War II. I can't believe some of the despicable, vile comments some of you think nothing of posting. The mindless barrage of vicious, barbaric personal attacks on President Obama are so off the map, they only serve to measure the true level of pure, reactionary, textbook racism. Racism which reared its ugly head when confronted with the intelligence, integrity and decency of this man who happens to be black. Hate mongers accuse Obama of all that they NEED him to be, all to justify their hate, suspicion, and fear of black people in general. You give yourselves away, every time, like the ostrich with his head in the sand. You've got to be carefully taught to hate and fear. You're not born with those detriments.
Hey, commenter #71, GCBlaze 11, can YOU see the 99-plus comments following ours?? This sure feels like censorship to me.
Awwwww....rebels with a baby - who doesn't love that? I'm totally on their side now.
Seriously, the manipulation is just getting desperate. Now Syria is moving its chemical weapons up to readiness. I heard they could be ready to launch missiles with chemical warheads in as little as 45 minutes!!! Oh, wait, never mind, I heard that from Tony Blair, and it was in an "intelligence report" his government plagiarized from some college student's thesis.
Assad probably isn't a great guy - although we really don't know because 90% of what we hear about him is fabricated - but he is a prince compared to the group of sweaty fundamentalist thugs the west wants to install as the government of Syria. Don't take the bait.
It seems that our choices are that if we pick sides are to either help the Iranians who are actively assisting Assad in the slam down of his own people, OR.........
We can help Al Qaeda, who are attempting a hostile takeover of the Syrian government.
I say we should donate millions of rounds of spent uranium bullets to the rebels, so when they eventually win, many will die from exposure, Iran will have lost an ally, as will Russia, but death will be maximized for both sides.
Both are sworn enemies of the United States, and our people. I say the best bet is to prolong the fighting as long as possible by whatever means necessary to maximize casualties. They are both the enemy.
Like John McCain pointed out 2 months ago, these are NOT fundamentalist Muslims. And you can judge that this man is no prince by what he directs his armed forces to do. Are you so blind to the reality of genocide, that you think all the dead bodies are extras from Central Casting?? You're like the Holocaust denier who actually said to Simon Wiesenthal that the bodies in the film footage of the death camps were made of paper mache. Its in his book. It is more than a mistake to deny Assad is the monstrous war criminal that anyone with eyes can see he is. It is a cowards way out of telling the truth. Just parrot Rush, and his fellow fascists,and keep those right-wing-nut, "Believe what I say, and not your own eyes" talking points rolling so you'll sound like you're 'in the know'! I hope the pictures of DEAD CHILDREN haunt you and your ilk forever.
P.S. You'd be sweaty, too, if you were fighting for your life, and your family's and your neighbor's lives. The only time you probably sweat is when you're drinking your beer in a rainstorm. It's a real American tragedy how the Hate Culture has so perverted people's thought processes.
Oh, well - if John McCain said the rebels are not fundamentalist Muslims, I guess I should drop that perspective, because if there's one thing John McCain knows, it's his Muslims.
Keep on with that jingoistic flag wavin', though. That's exactly the spirit that had NATO acting as the de facto Benghazi air force in the Libya campaign, helping to secure victory for a leadership that had the al Qaeda flag flying from the roof of the Benghazi courthouse the day after NATO pulled out. Certainly a day to be proud of, helping to enable a government of the same people who dropped the twin towers. It should be on a T-Shirt.
Know who stands to win big if Assad is toppled? The Muslim Brotherhood. Yes, the same group who just came to power in Egypt. But keep on broadcasting from your cracker box.