Opposition calls for UN aid after "massacre" in Syria.
Videos circulating online show, among other things, dozens of children's bodies in pools of blood on the floor of a room, and a mass grave; government opponents denounce 90 deaths; watch one of the recordings.
Agency Brazil - Opposition activists in Syria have called on the United Nations (UN) to take stronger action to protect civilians, following what they described as the "massacre" of around 90 people, many of them children, in the city of Houla.
Videos circulating online showed dozens of children's bodies in pools of blood on the floor of a room.
UN observers in Syria visited the site which, according to the opposition, was bombed and attacked by Bashar Al Assad's government forces yesterday (25).
If the number of victims is confirmed, this will become one of the most violent attacks in a single location since the truce agreed in April.
Activists say that another 20 people have been killed in clashes in other parts of Syria, after thousands of protesters took to the streets following yesterday's prayers.
Activists called for a day of mourning for the victims of the attack in Houla. According to them, government militias are responsible for the deaths of entire families, while others were killed in bombings or summarily executed.
The international press does not have access to many parts of Syria and it is impossible to independently verify reports of violence, but experts said it is unlikely that the video posted online, showing bodies piled up in a room, is fake.
In a letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the situation in Syria remains "extremely serious" and that the opposition controls "significant parts of some cities."
Ban Ki-moon also stated that "established terrorist groups" could be behind some of the bomb attacks carried out in the country, due to the level of sophistication of the actions.
Earlier this month, an explosion in Damascus left 55 dead in an attack that the government attributed to Al Qaeda.
The attack occurred amid fears that the extremist group was taking advantage of the situation in Syria to gain ground.
The Secretary-General admitted that UN efforts to end the conflict had made only "modest progress," as Syria "has not ceased or reduced the use of heavy weapons in various areas," one of the demands of the peace plan proposed by the special envoy to the country, Kofi Annan.
The UN says that at least 10 people have been killed since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011.
With information from BBC Brasil
Watch one of the videos: