Takfiris carry out mass murders in Syria: UN
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) carried out “mass executions” in Syria in January, the United Nations says.
According to a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria on Tuesday, the Takfiris “conducted mass executions of detainees, thereby perpetrating war crimes.”
The commission said it had documented some mass execution cases in Idlib, Aleppo, and Raqqa provinces, including in a children’s hospital in Aleppo used by the militants as a headquarter.
“The number killed as well as allegations of mass graves connected to these executions remain under investigation,” it said, adding, “Many killings occurred hastily, at pointblank range.”
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the head of the commission, told the UN Human Rights Council that the militants “are imposing their radical ideologies on the civilian population,” in northern and northeastern provinces.
“Civilians in besieged areas have been reduced to scavenging… People, including young children, have starved to death,” Pinheiro added.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011.
Over 130,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by Western-backed militants.
The Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are reportedly supporting the militants operating inside Syria.