Syria rebels executed 67 Alawite villagers: Human Rights Watch

BEIRUT: Rebel groups executed at least 67 civilians and took hostage 200 others from Alawite villages in Syria in August, Human Rights Watch reported on Friday, saying this constituted war crimes.

The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs.

HRW based its 105-page report on an on-site investigation and 35 interviews, including with survivors of an August 4 attack on 10 pro-government Alawite villages in the coastal province of Latakia.



Out of 190 civilians killed, the New York-based group said at least 67 were executed. Some 20 groups took part in the attack before government troops expelled the rebels from the villages on August 18.

"Two opposition groups that took part in the offensive, the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (the Levant) and Jaish al-Muhajireen Wal-Ansar, are still holding the hostages, the vast majority women and children," it said.

"The findings strongly suggest that the killings, hostage taking, and other abuses rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity," the rights group said.

"The scale and pattern of the serious abuses carried out by opposition groups during the operation indicate that they were systematic and planned as part of an attack on a civilian population," it said.

"In some cases, opposition fighters executed or gunned down entire families."

For more news visit our page : Magazine, Urdu News, asianaffairs

 world urdu news        News magazine    current issues

Whole middle east           Political magazine             Social affairs

Related tags:

Latest news, world news, current affairs, breaking news, arab country news, daily news, Islamic news, india news, Pakistan news, , india Pakistan news, current news, news headlines, Latest World News,Articles,

Latest news, latest urdu news, world news, current affairs, breaking news, arab country news, sport news, cricket news, daily news, Islamic news, india news, Pakistan news, india Pakistan news, current news,Current affairs, Economic Affairs,Islam and Human Rights, Islam and Politics , Islam and the West, Muslim Media, Islamic Society, Islamic World,Latest World News,  breaking news ,Top Breaking News, Current Affairs, daily news, recent news, news headlines