Human Rights Watch (HRW) is accusing the Syrian opposition of violating human rights laws and committing war crimes during the 18-month long civil war.
They claimed that, "armed opposition groups have subjected detainees to ill-treatment and torture and committed extrajudicial or summary executions in Aleppo, Latakia, and Idlib."
More than 20,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict and over 250,000 have fled Syria, according to the U.N.
Some highlights from the findings:
- HRW found at least 12 cases of extrajudicial and summary executions by opposition forces.
- They also reported 6 confirmed cases of torture and a handful of unconfirmed reports.
- Some local judicial councils have relied on Sharia law, while others have used Syrian criminal law for criminal matters and Sharia law for civil disputes. HRW called into question the impartiality of many of the local judicial councils and questioned the due process standards of these councils.
- "Countries financing or supplying arms to opposition groups should send a strong signal to the opposition that they expect it to comply strictly with international human rights and humanitarian law."
Reuters also reports that the UN has also expanded its 'secret' list of Syrians suspected of violating war crimes. Human rights investigators have charged both sides with gross violations; Paulo Pinheiro, one of the investigators, noted that government forces have murdered and tortured civilians, "in what appears to be a state-directed policy." He also mentioned that rebels have "used prisoners to detonate vehicle-borne explosives."
There is no statute of limitations for these crimes, according to Pinheiro.
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