Syrian forces accused of machine-gunning hundreds of deserting soldiers..Why would they do this when Inspectors are coming?

Syrian forces have been accused of perpetrating one of the deadliest massacres of the country's nine-month uprising after scores of soldiers were mown down by machine-gun fire as they attempted a mass desertion. (can this be verified by a Group that isn't UK-Based?)

The dramatic breakout from an army base in northern Syria could have been a pivotal moment in the growing rebellion against Bashar al-Assad, the country's president. Instead it ended in disaster and bloodshed.

Throwing down an unprecedented challenge to his regime, hundreds of soldiers at an encampment in Idlib province made a desperate scramble for freedom on Monday. Their intention, according to opposition forces, was to make a dash for the Turkish border to join the Syrian Free Army, a rebel force made up of fellow defectors.

But the plan was either ill-judged or loyalist forces too well prepared.

As they ran, volley after volley of machinegun fire was aimed at their retreating backs. At least 60 were killed.

Those who managed to escape were mercilessly hunted down yesterday.

Loyalist soldiers surrounded the deserters in the countryside between two villages, picking them off one by one in an intense firefight that raged for much of the day.

"After clashes that broke out this morning with the regular army, 100 deserters were besieged then killed or wounded between the villages of Kafruwed and al-Fatira," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Read More

Note: Of course they "The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" should know seeing they are based in London.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is a UK-based group opposed to the rule of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.