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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| 27 more Syrian troops killed | |
| 2011-12-16 | |
BEIRUT: Syrian army defectors killed at least 27 government forces in clashes in the southern province of Daraa on Thursday, activists said. It was one of the deadliest spates of attacks by rebel troops since the uprising against President Bashar AssadÂ’s authoritarian regime began nine months ago.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday’s attacks. But the Free Syrian Army, a Turkish-based defector group, has in the past claimed similar attacks. Also Thursday, Human Rights Watch issued a report alleging that dozens of Syrian military commanders and officials authorized or gave direct orders for widespread killings, torture, and illegal arrests during the wave of anti-government protests. The 88-page report by the New York-based group is based on more than 60 interviews with defectors from the Syrian military and intelligence agencies. It identifies 74 commanders and officials behind the alleged abuse. “Defectors gave us names, ranks, and positions of those who gave the orders to shoot and kill, and each and every official named in this report, up to the very highest levels of the Syrian government, should answer for their crimes against the Syrian people,” said Anna Neistat, associate director for emergencies at Human Rights Watch. All of the defectors interviewed said their commanders gave standing orders to stop the overwhelmingly peaceful protests throughout the country “by all means necessary.” They understood the phrase as an authorization to use lethal force, especially because they had been given live ammunition instead of other means of crowd control. About half the defectors interviewed by HRW said the commanders of their units or other officers also gave them direct orders to fire at protesters or bystanders and reassured them that they would not be held accountable. The report quotes defectors as saying that in some cases, officers themselves participated in killings. It said the abuses constitute crimes against humanity and that the UN Security Council should refer Syria to the International Criminal Court. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |