 UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - If the U.N. Security Council does not take swift action to pressure Syria to end its 14-month assault on the opposition, member nations may have no choice but to consider acting outside the United Nations, the U.S. envoy to the world body said on Wednesday. Children and women 
 
 Troops, tanks and artillery were all supposed to have been withdrawn to barracks in April as the first step on the ground under six-point peace plan of UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. "Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, whose country says it will veto any Security Council resolution that authorizes foreign military intervention in Syria, said after the briefing that Moscow is dissatisfied with the "current state of things. "​​International outrage has mounted since a massacre of more than 100 civilians took place in the central Syrian town of Houla last week.Diplomats in Geneva said the U.N. Human Rights Council plans to hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the massacre. "It is out of the question to remain silent and without any reaction in the face of this action, which amounts to a crime against humanity," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Turkey and Japan expelled Syrian diplomats on Wednesday, joining the U.S. and several other nations in protesting a weekend massacre of more than 100 people in Syria, including women and children. They joined the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, which announced the expulsions of Syrian diplomats on Tuesday​​The Syrian government retaliated on Wednesday by ordering the Dutch charge d’Affaires to leave Syria within 72 hours.Russia's U.N. ambassador on Wednesday called expulsions a "bilateral matter," but warned that they could be "misinterpreted by those who want to see foreign military intervention and fighting in Syria. On Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said a committee comprising the ministries of justice, defense and interior was set up to investigate the massacre and would have the job done within three days.
– Turkey and Japan today joined a number of nations who have given Syrian diplomats within their borders the boot, as the head of the UN observers in Syria revealed that 13 bodies had been found with their hands tied in the country's east, reports Reuters. But the developments are unlikely to chip away at Russia and China's resistance to taking tougher steps against Syria. To wit, Russia's deputy foreign minister today announced that Russia is "categorically against" military intervention in Syria and noted that it would be "premature" for the UN Security Council to take any fresh steps. The BBC notes that, in light of Russia's veto power on the council, the latest remarks indicate there's little hope for new initiatives. And the overall lack of progress is only underscored by the fact that Kofi Annan this morning left Syria—without getting the government to agree to take any of the "bold steps" he was pushing, reports Voice of America. Writing for the Washington Post, David Ignatius thinks the answer is easy—Bashar al-Assad needs to go—and the reason why that's not happening is obvious: Vladimir Putin, who is "playing a cynical game of power politics." The focus shouldn't be on pressuring Assad, but on turning "up the heat on Putin," he writes.