UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says that over the past two weeks her office has received reports of "a succession of mass executions of civilians and fighters who were no longer participating in hostilities in Aleppo, Idlib and Raqqa by hardline armed opposition groups in Syria, in particular by the" al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
She warned that such killings violate international humanitarian law, and the numbers of such violations are thought to be alarmingly high.
"While exact numbers are difficult to verify, reliable eyewitness testimony that we have gathered suggests that many civilians and fighters in the custody of extremist armed opposition groups have been executed since the beginning of this year," Pillay said in a statement.
Fighting between the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other Islamic groups in northern and eastern Syria has killed hundreds of people over the past two weeks. The infighting is the most serious among opponents of President Bashar Assad since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011.
Pilay's office reported that in the first week of January a number of people were killed in Idlib by armed opposition groups. It said that on Jan. 6 in Aleppo three people reportedly held by the al-Qaida linked group at its base in Makhfar al-Saleheen were found dead, handcuffed, with bullet wounds in their heads.
Two days later, also in Aleppo, "numerous bodies, again mostly handcuffed and blindfolded, were found in a Children's Hospital" once used as a base by the group, the UN office said, and that at least four local media activists were among the dead, as well as captured fighters from armed opposition groups.
Pillay says there also are "deeply disturbing reports emerging of mass executions" by the al-Qaida linked group, both when it withdrew from Raqqa and after it regained control earlier this week.
"These reports are particularly alarming, given the large numbers of people, including civilians, that armed opposition groups in Syria are believed to be holding in custody," Pillay said. "The taking of hostages is prohibited under international humanitarian law and may also constitute a war crime."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Mass-executions-in-Syria-could-be-war-crime-UN/articleshow/28896783.cms
16/1/14
Syrie: Moscou appelle à punir les auteurs des exécutions de masse...
ReplyDeleteIl faut punir les membres de groupes extrémistes et leurs meneurs coupables des exécutions de masse et les meurtres extra-judiciaires en Syrie, a déclaré vendredi le ministère russe des Affaires étrangères.
"Nous partageons l'avis de la Haut-Commissaire de l'ONU aux droits de l'homme Navi Pillay que ces actes commis par l'opposition armée constituent une violation des droits de l'homme et des normes humanitaires internationales et peuvent être considérés comme des crimes militaires", a indiqué le ministère, commentant une déclaration faite jeudi soir par Mme Pillay.
Selon la déclaration de Mme Pillay mise en ligne sur le site de l'ONU, des exécutions de masse se sont tenues dans le nord du pays, à Alep, Idlib et Raqqa et notamment dans l'hôpital pour enfants d'Alep qui servait de base pour le groupe d'opposition armé extrémiste intitulé l'Etat islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL).
Mme Pillay se réfère à des informations crédibles que l'ONU a obtenues auprès de témoins oculaires en Syrie. Selon ses données, de nombreux civils, journalistes locaux et combattants sous la garde de groupes d'opposition armés extrémistes ont été exécutés depuis le début de l'année.
http://fr.ria.ru/world/20140117/200247218.html
17/1/14