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.
