Army tortured and killed civilians, say Syrian refugees

RESIDENTS of a Syrian town near the Lebanese border have spoken of alleged acts carried out against them by the army including murder, torture, detention and deprivation of liberty.

Testimony taken by Amnesty International has led the organisation to compile a report documenting the tale of one town, Tell Kalakh, which highlights the horror of what is believed to be going on in the Middle Eastern country.

According to Amnesty’s findings, scores of men were arbitrarily arrested and tortured, including people already wounded, and at least nine died in custody. The security operation prompted thousands of people to flee to Lebanon, some of whom were shot at as they fled.

Amnesty said it considers that the crimes and other violations carried out during the security operation, when taken in the context of other crimes and human rights violations elsewhere in Syria, amount to crimes against humanity.

This is because they appear to be part of a widespread, as well as systematic, attack against the civilian population involving multiple commission of a range of crimes against a multiplicity of victims in an organised manner.

Speaking to more than 50 people who fled into Lebanon, witnesses reported shootings of civilians, selling of civilian areas, mass arrests, torture, firing on emergency vehicles and looting.

The atrocities allegedly occurred on May 16, 17 and 18, when Syrian troops carried out house-to-house searches in Tell Kalakh.

Many other men were detained as they were trying to flee Tell Kalakh after shelling stopped on 16 May. Troops intercepted fleeing families on the only accessible route leading out of Tell Kalakh, separated the men from the women, and then arrested the men or let them go without explanation.

Every family that Amnesty International met in Lebanon had at least one relative in detention. Those arrested included retired army officers, sheikhs, lawyers, carpenters, electricians, drivers, butchers, students, shopkeepers, farmers, painters, construction workers and hairdressers.

Consistent descriptions of arrests during the house-to-house searches indicate that beatings began the moment a man opened the door, usually with an immediate blow to the face. According to accounts given to Amnesty, victims were then punched, slapped, kicked and hit with rifle butts, twisted wires and batons. After arrest, the men were generally dragged outside, had their hands tied and were blindfolded. Some had their shirts lifted from the back over their head and face, and were forced to kneel or to lie on the floor on their stomach.

On foot of the report, Amnesty International repeated its call on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

It also urged the Syrian authorities to provide unimpeded access to UN investigators currently looking into the human rights situation in Syria.