Syria: new massacre by government shows Assad's total disregard for human lives.

"The news of yet another deadly massacre in Syria, which was almost certainly perpetrated by the armed forces of the Syrian dictator Assad, has come as a shock to us. The entire EPP Group expresses its condolences to the families of the many who were killed in the Hama province yesterday, and its solidarity with the Syrian people who are paying an unacceptable price for their legitimate claim for freedom and democracy", said Joseph Daul and Ioannis Kasoulides in a joint statement today.

"Mr Assad is showing his complete disregard for human lives in his repeated and deliberate use of lethal violence against unarmed civilians, many of whom were young school children. His rule in Syria is bound to end soon. Unfortunately, he seems to wish to take as many innocent lives as possible before that happens", said the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the largest and most influential Group in the European Parliament.

"The Syrians must never doubt that the European Union will do everything in its power to put pressure on the current regime which we consider to have lost all legitimacy, and to assist in the reconstruction of a new, democratic, pluralist Syria where the people's desire for self-determination can be expressed through peace, the respect of fundamental civic rights and the rule of law", said Messrs Daul and Kasoulides.