UN observers' chief confirms continuous fighting in carnage- hit Syrian town

Damascus, July 13 (Xinhua-ANI): Chief of the UN mission in Syria Robert Mood said Friday that observers in central Hama province confirmed that there was a continuous fighting in the town of Traimseh, adding that the fighting involved mechanized units and helicopters.

Mood said his mission is ready to enter the area and verify the facts on ground if the violence rate decreased.

"From our presence in Hama province we can verify continuous fighting yesterday in the area of Traimseh, which involved mechanized units, indirect fire, as well as helicopters ," Mood told reporters in a briefing Friday.

He said the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) "stands ready to go in and seek verification of facts if and when there is a credible ceasefire."

A day earlier, the Syrian government and opposition activists traded accusations over a massacre that hit the Traimseh town in the countryside of Hama province. Activists said more than 200 people were killed there.

Syria's state TV said late Thursday that armed groups had committed a massacre in the town in order to frame the Syrian troops.

The TV said armed groups opened fire indiscriminately on the residents of Traimseh and caused people to seek help from the Syrian troops.

The state media also said three soldiers were killed when fighting the armed groups in the restive town and the troops inflicted hefty losses upon the assailants.

Meanwhile, the opposition activists' network Local Coordination Committees alleged that at least 200 people have been killed in Traimseh in what it also labels as a massacre. The activists accused the government troops of being behind the carnage.

The Syrian government charges that before every forthcoming session of the UN Security Council, armed fighters would stage a massacre to leverage it against the ruling legitimacy of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Xinhua-ANI)'