Carr condemns latest Syrian massacre

31 May 2012, 12:18 pm   -   Source: AAP

Foreign Minister Bob Carr says there's practical difficulties with potential military intervention in Syria.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr says stepping up sanctions against Syria will be considered ahead of military intervention.

Senator Carr was responding to reports of another massacre in the strife-torn nations.

UN observers have discovered 13 bound corpses in eastern Syria, many of them apparently shot execution-style with their hands tied behind their backs

The latest incident comes days after a massacre in Houla prompted worldwide condemnation against the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Senator Carr said military intervention could not be ruled out.

"Before that you have to get the implementation of the Kofi Annan peace plan," he told Sky News on Thursday.

"Beyond that we'd talk about stepping up sanctions."

The foreign minister said only when all those options had been exhausted would military intervention be moved up the agenda.

"There are enormous practical difficulties with that concept," Senator Carr said, noting Syria had a very strong army and ground-to-air missile defences.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said he had not had any discussions with his US counterparts about the possibility of military intervention in Syria.

Nor could he see a role for Australia in any potential international authorised military action.

"We would regard that in many respects as analogous to Libya," he told reporters in Canberra, adding that Australia had been happy in that situation to offer humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

There were many nations in the Middle East and Europe that would be called upon first to provide military force, the defence minister said.

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