Help us to bring down Assad, David Cameron urges Russia

David Cameron today called on Russia and China to back regime change in Syria amid reports of another massacre in the country.

Syrian activists said women and children were among almost 80 people slaughtered by pro-government forces in what the Prime Minister condemned as an “absolutely brutal and sickening attack”.

Mr Cameron said the latest violence showed President Bashar al-Assad’s regime was “illegitimate” and urged world leaders to back calls for the tyrant to step aside.

The comments were particularly aimed at UN Security Council members Russia and China, who have so far refused to end their support for the regime.

Reports of yesterday’s violence come less than two weeks after 108 people were killed in a massacre in Houla.

“It really is appalling what is happening in that country, and I want to see concerted action from the international community,” Mr Cameron said on a trip to Oslo.

“I think that lots of different countries in the world —countries that sit around the UN Security Council table — have got to sit down today and discuss this issue.

“None of them should be able to hide from the fact that, if this is true, it will be once again President Assad demonstrating that his regime is completely illegitimate and cannot stand.

“We need to do much more to isolate Syria, to isolate the regime, to put the pressure on and to demonstrate that the whole world wants to see a political transition from this illegitimate regime and to actually see one that can take care of its people.”

The Prime Minister’s strongly-worded call came as UN envoy Kofi Annan prepared to update the Security Council on his peace plan, which has virtually collapsed in recent days.

Mr Annan was understood to be preparing to unveil a new road map, possibly involving a “contact group” including regional powers.

Foreign Office sources said the idea was to bring Moscow into international efforts, and said Russia was the only country with “real leverage” over Mr Assad.

But there were signs the diplomatic stand-off was set to continue, as the “Shanghai Group” including Russia, China and central Asian states refused to back direct intervention.

“The Shanghai Group member states are against military interference in the affairs of this region, enforced ‘hand-over of power’, unilateral sanctions,” they said in a statement.

The UN says more than 10,000 people have been killed since the start of an uprising against President Assad in more than a year of unrest.