Syria has demanded a stern and urgent UN condemnation of the massacre of Alawite villagers committed on Sunday by foreign-backed insurgents. The Syrian Foreign Ministry has written a letter to the UN secretary general and the chairman of the Security Council detailing the bloodshed. Officials say more than 50 people --including women and children -- were killed in the attack on the village of Ma\'an in Hama province. Damascus has called for the condemnation of both the militants and their international backers. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has also acknowledged that the massacre happened. The tragedy occurred hours before the launch of the second round of peace talks in Geneva. On Monday, the government delegation began the talks with a draft statement on the massacre. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said that the foreign-backed opposition should have condemned the incident out of patriotic and moral duty. Show Less >>