The UN mission chief in Syria Major General Robert Mood on Saturday condemned the "brutal tragedy" in Houla, where he said 92 bodies, including those of more than 32 children, had been counted.

Mood said he condemns "in the strongest possible terms the brutal tragedy" in Houla in the central province of Homs, adding that UN monitors visited the area and counted 92 bodies, including "more than 32 under the age of 10".

"Those using violence for their own agendas will create more instability, more unpredictability and may lead the country to civil war," Mood told reporters in Damascus, describing the violence as "indiscriminate and disproportionate".

UN observers had rushed on Saturday to Houla after the reported massacre of scores of civilians there, amid renewed opposition calls for air strikes on regime forces.

The shelling of the town by regime forces began at around midday on Friday and continued until dawn on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, giving a death toll of more than 90.

[Source: AFP]