UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has called for an immediate cessation of mass executions on a sectarian basis in Syria’s northwestern regions.
"Following a series of coordinated attacks reportedly launched by elements of the former government and other local armed men, we are receiving extremely disturbing reports of entire families, including women, children and hors de combat fighters, being killed. There are reports of summary executions on a sectarian basis by unidentified perpetrators, by members of the caretaker authorities’ security forces, as well as by elements associated with the former government," he said in a statement.
"The killing of civilians in coastal areas in northwest Syria must cease, immediately," he stressed and called on Syria’s interim government to investigate these murders and take prompt measures to protect the civilian population.
On March 6, clashes broke out in various areas of the Latakia governorate between so-called Syrian security forces and armed groups supporting former Syrian President Bashar Assad. The fiercest fighting took place in Jableh, home to Alawites, representatives of the religious minority, to which the Assad family belongs. Authorities sent army units and armored vehicles to the three provinces, and curfews have been imposed in the main cities.
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The death toll among civilians from clashes between the new Syrian government’s security forces and armed supporters of former President Bashar Assad in the Latakia, Tartus and Homs governorates has risen to 830, the Iraqi news portal Shafaq news reported.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the news portal, most of the victims belong to the Alawite community, which makes up 12% of the country's population.