The killings in the town of Houla drew world attention as the United Nations reported that entire families were killed in their homes on Friday... some by artillery shells, but many with small arms shot at point blank range.
The United States, France, Britain, Canada, Italy, Spain, Australia, and Bulgaria all gave Syrian diplomats only hours to leave their capitals in an effort to politically isolate Assad's regime.
The Syrian killings were in response to increased protests by Syrian citizens again the Assad's government.