The UN’s human rights office said yesterday that most of the 108 victims of a chilling massacre in Syria last week were shot at close range, some of them women and children who were gunned down in their homes.

The killings are a stark reminder of the atrocities committed in Libya, under the Gaddafi regime. The world was quick to react and a wide-ranging (and very loosely interpreted) resolution was passed by the United Nations to protect the citizens of Libya.

The situation in Syria is not quite the same, with a more sectarian form of violence erupting and inching the country closer to civil war. Atrocities have been committed by both sides, the UN says. It has become apparent that there have been summary killings committed by the government’s troops and security forces, as well as the rebels. But who are the rebels? There are many who just want to get rid of Bashar Assad’s yoke on power. But there are others who are murdering people as a result of sectarianism. The situation is so volatile, that it has even spilled over into neighbouring Lebanon.

The latest UN report offered grim new details of an event that could prove to be a turning point in Syria’s 15 months of violence, but did not decisively say who carried out most of the killings. It did, however, cite survivors and witnesses who blamed the house-to-house killings on pro-government militias known as shabiha, who often operate as hired muscle for the regime.

The brutality of the Houla killings, documented in gruesome amateur videos of scores of bodies laid out before burial, sparked international outrage and raised new questions about the ability of a UN-brokered plan to end 15 months of violence in Syria.

At least seven nations, including France and Britain, expelled Syrian diplomats yesterday to protest the killings, ramping up the pressure on President Bashar Assad’s regime. But still, there is no action. There are no drones and planes pummelling tanks and artillery, like they did in Gaddafi’s Libya.

The UN said that at least 108 people, including 34 women and 49 children, were killed in an attack that began on Friday and continued through the night on Houla, a group of poor farming villages northwest of the central Syrian city of Homs.

In Damascus, international envoy Kofi Annan met with Assad yesterday to express “grave concern” about the Houla killings and other violence, said Annan’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi. Annan said his plan cannot work without “bold steps” to stop the violence and release detainees.

Long-time Syrian ally Russia has largely stood by Damascus, although Moscow is growing increasingly critical – particularly over the Houla massacre. Perhaps it will take the UN clout of Russia and China to change the very sad and sorry state of affairs.

Syria’s unrest began in March 2011, with protests calling for political change. Government troops swiftly cracked down at the uprising spread, and many in the opposition have taken up arms to defend their towns and attack government troops. Thousands have died and unless the world acts, thousands more will die.