U.N. Condemns Houla Massacre; China, Russia, Cuba Disagree

The United Nations Human Rights Commission officially condemned last week's Houla massacre in Syria. The resolution was passed with 41 votes. Only Russia, China and Cuba voted against the resolution, while two nations abstained and one member nation didn't vote.

Last Friday, 108 civilians, including 49 children and 34 women, were killed in a series of connected villages known as Houla. About 20 were killed by artillery and mortar fire, while the rest were either shot or stabbed at close range. The Syrian government has blamed rebels for the massacre, a claim that U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice called an another blatant lie. Witnesses to the massacre point to the shabbiha, Bashar al-Assad's so-called ghost militia, a group of civilian soldiers loyal to the government.

The wording of Friday's resolution puts blame for Houla in pro-regime elements.