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         US Voices 'Horror' over Syrian Execution Photo as Summit Opens

   The U.S. State Department says it is "horrified" by a published
   photograph purporting to show armed Syrian rebels moments before they
   executed seven government soldiers lying face down on the ground.
   The photograph, appearing Thursday in The New York Times, circulated
   globally as U.S. President Barack Obama was greeted at an economic
   summit in St. Petersburg by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
   The two presidents have for months failed to reconcile their
   differences over Syria`s civil war, and by early Friday there were no
   public signs of agreement on how to respond to mounting evidence of
   atrocities on both sides of the conflict.
   State Department spokeswoman Jan Psaki, speaking Thursday, said U.S.
   analysts had not yet confirmed the affiliations of the apparent
   executioners. But she issued a strong condemnation of summary
   executions by any party to the conflict, and said U.S. authorities are
   seeking more information on the photo.
   A report accompanying the grisly photo said five of the prisoners were
   trussed with their bare backs marked with red welts. All seven pressed
   their faces into the dirt as a purported rebel commander recited what
   was described as a revolutionary verse. A companion video then carries
   the sound of about 24 gunshots.
   In St. Petersburg, President Obama is seeking broader support for
   military strikes against Syria`s government for its alleged use of
   chemical weapons earlier this month.
   But Mr. Putin warned ahead of the summit that Western strikes without
   U.N. Security Council approval would be an unacceptable "aggression."
   He said he would support a strike if there were "convincing" proof that
   Damascus used chemical weapons. He has insisted that such evidence is
   not yet either clear or convincing.
   Russia has been a key ally of Damascus and has -- along with China --
   consistently blocked Security Council votes to punish the government of
   Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for what most observers say is the
   wholesale slaughter of civilians caught up in the conflict.
   The United States on Thursday hosted a series of U.N. briefings on
   Syria. Afterwards, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said Russia, with its
   Security Council veto power, continues to hold the world body hostage
   and "shirk" [avoid] its international responsibilities.
   "There is nothing in the pattern of our interactions with our
   colleagues in the Security Council, our Russian colleagues, that would
   give us any reason to be optimistic. And, indeed, we have seen nothing
   in President Putin`s comments that suggests there is an available path
   forward at the Security Council."
   Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate could begin debate next week on a measure
   calling for limited military strikes on Syria. A key Senate panel on
   Wednesday approved the draft resolution, which also rules out deploying
   U.S. ground troops to the country.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-voices-horror-over-syrian-executio
   n-photo-as-summit-opens/1744259.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-voices-horror-over-syrian-execution-photo-as-summit-opens/1744259.html