U.S. Accuses Syria of Mass Executions

The message delivered from the White House through Stuart Jones, acting assistant secretary for Near East affairs, was:

"The regime is responsible for killing as many as 50 detainees per day at Saydnaya. Credible sources have believed that many of the bodies have been disposed in mass graves.  We now believe that the Syrian regime has installed a crematorium in the Saydnaya complex which could dispose of detainees remains with little evidence."

The U.S. government last month accused Assad of using chemical weapons against his people before imposing sanctions on Syria. Assad denied that he did so, and called the story a "fabrication."