Syria Opposition Urges U.N. to 'Stop Genocide, Regime Murders'

Syria's main opposition coalition called on Tuesday for a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the ''use of force'' and welcomed the expulsion of top diplomats from several Western countries.

After economic sanctions and the expulsion of top diplomats from several Western countries, the U.N. Security Council should ''adopt a resolution under Chapter VII (of the U.N. Charter) allowing the use of necessary force in order to put a stop to the genocide and the murders committed by the regime's militias,'' the Syrian National Council said.

The SNC also welcomed the expulsion of ''the regime's ambassador in Paris and its representatives in Australia,'' adding that it ''expects other countries to follow suit.''

Several Western countries -- including the U.S., France, Australia, Britain, Spain, Germany and Canada -- announced the expulsion of Syria's diplomatic representatives on Tuesday, in protest over ongoing repression in Syria and a massacre in the central town of Houla.

''Ending diplomatic relations and imposing economic sanctions on the regime is an essential part of the response to the horrific massacres that the regime is carrying out,'' the statement said.

Source:Agence France Presse