Reports: Dozens Of Bodies Found In Syria; Young Men Apparently Executed

By Mark Memmott

Published January 29, 2013 at 8:00 AM CST

Activists and rebels in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo are reporting today that "the bodies of dozens of young men, all apparently summarily executed" have been found in and around the Quwaiq River, the BBC writes.

There is a very graphic video posted on the Facebook page of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects such materials from groups that oppose President Bashar Assad. Warning: Clicking on this link will take you to that video; you may not want to see what's there.

Reuters begins its report with this:

"At least 65 people, apparently shot in the head, were found dead with their hands bound in a district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday, a pro-opposition monitoring group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll could rise as high as 80 in what it called a 'new massacre.' It was not clear who carried out the killings."

Earlier this month, the the U.N. Human Rights Office released a report that estimated at least 59,648 people had been killed in Syria through November in the protests and fighting there since March 2011." It pinned most of the blame for the deaths on the Assad regime.

Update at 9:45 a.m. ET. More U.S. Humanitarian Aid On The Way:

The White House announced this morning that the U.S. is sending another $155 million in "humanitarian assistance." In a statement, President Obama says

"American aid means food and clean water for millions of Syrians. American aid means medicine and treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients in Damascus, Dar'a and Homs. It means immunizations for one million Syrian children. American aid means winter supplies for more than half a million people in Aleppo, Homs and Dayr az Zawr. And we're working with allies and partners so that this aid reaches those in need.

"Today, we're taking another step. I've approved an additional $155 million in humanitarian aid for people in Syria and refugees fleeing the violence."