HR activists flay execution 4 men by Syrian rebels

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HR activists flay execution 4 men by Syrian rebels

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Human rights activists have flayed public shooting of four Assad loyalists by rebels in Aleppo.

01 August,2012 10:14 pm

A video appeared showing the men being put up against a wall after which they are killed in a hail of bullets by fighters wielding Kalashnikovs.One victim was identified as the head of a clan linked to a feared militia.The head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which documents violence by all sides in the conflict, condemned the killings by the rebels as criminal.Government forces have been battling to oust Free Syria Army (FSA) rebels from Aleppo, the countrys second and biggest city, since they launched an assault last month.The rebels appear to control large parts of the city despite government assertions that they have suffered heavy losses and are being mopped up by security forces.The shootings seem to have taken place on Tuesday, in what looks like a schoolyard.In a video which appeared on YouTube, gunmen can be seen leading a number of men in their underwear, some of them bruised or bloodied, into the yard, which is crowded with men shouting religious slogans.What it looks like is execution of detainees and if that is the case, that would be a war crime”Clive Baldwin Senior legal adviser for Human Rights Watch Chants include, The Free Syrian Army forever, well trample on the head of Assad.After the half-naked men are put up against a wall, the camera moves back behind the crowd, losing sight of them.Heavy gunfire from Kalashnikov assault rifles erupts, after which the camera shows a pile of bodies by the wall.One of the men killed has been identified as Ali Zeineddin al-Berri, known as Zeno, accusing of leading a shabiha group which killed 15 FSA fighters during a truce in Aleppo on Tuesday.Clive Baldwin, a senior legal adviser for Human Rights Watch (HRW), told BBC News: What it looks like is execution of detainees and if that is the case, that would be a war crime.HRW, he added, had already seen some evidence of abuses such as torture and executions by rebel elements for some time.Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said of the footage: This is criminal. This is revenge.The Aleppo video makes clear that neither side has a monopoly of righteousness, or of abuse, says the BBCs Jim Muir, in neighbouring Lebanon.It also clearly shows that large numbers of rebel fighters retain control of several parts of Aleppo and seem even to be expanding, despite reports on the state media that security forces are prevailing, our correspondent adds.