Int’l support

Copenhagen—U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that every day of slaughter in Syria is strengthening the case for tougher international action, yet stressed that military intervention would require support from the world community and Syria’s ally Russia. Speaking to Danish university students, Clinton noted that U.N. and international backing made possible last year’s coalition that helped force Moammar Gadhafi from power in Libya. But she lamented that Russia and China are standing in the way of similar action in Syria.She also suggested that a military effort against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime would be far more difficult.Asked when the U.S. might opt for a military option, Clinton said, “Every day that goes by makes the argument for it stronger.”She said Washington would continue pressing its case to Moscow, which has promised to block any moves at the United Nations to obtain a military mandate for intervention. Russia and China have twice shielded Assad’s regime from U.N. Security Council sanctions. Clinton spoke as activists reported more shelling in the central Houla area where more than 100 people were massacred last week.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees activist groups said Thursday’s shelling of Houla was mostly by heavy machine guns. Survivors of last week’s Houla massacre blamed pro-regime gunmen for the killing of many children and women, though the government denied the involvement of its troops.The Obama administration has called for Assad to step down and clear the way for a political transition.—AP