Syria: 106 reportedly dead in another Homs massacre, Ban Ki-moon says Syria is in "death spiral" (UPDATE)

GlobalPost

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said that Syria is in a "death spiral." He made the warning at a speech at Stanford University, Al Jazeera reported.

"You have seen the tragedy play out on your television screens," Ban said. "Syria is in a death spiral."

The news comes as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, says that forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad killed 106 people in the city of Homs this week, the Guardian reported. Though the report has not been independently confirmed yet, BBC News also visited the scene and says it found evidence that at least 100 people were killed and burned in their homes.

The monitoring group, meanwhile, says that the forces attacked Basatin al-Hasawiya, a poor district on the edge of town, shooting and stabbing victims or burning them in their homes, Reuters reported.

"The Observatory has the names of 14 members of one family, including three children, and information on other families who were completely killed, including one of 32 people," Rami Abdelrahman, head of the group, said, according to Reuters.

"Assad's forces punish civilians for allowing the rebels to enter the area," Abu Yazen, an opposition activist in Homs, told the Guardian.

More from GlobalPost: Inside Syria: There's no place like Homs

According to the Guardian:

In May 2012, Homs province was the scene of the killing of 108 people, including nine children and 34 women, in the town of Houla, which UN monitors blamed on the army and pro-Assad militia.

More from GlobalPost: Syria: Dozens of children among dead in Homs 'massacre' (VIDEO)

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