UN: Violence in Syria's Alawite areas may be war crimes

Shafaq News – Geneva

War crimes may have been committed in predominantly Alawite areas of Syria in a wave of deadly violence earlier this year, top UN human rights investigators stated on Friday.

The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria reported that the acts included killings, torture, and the inhumane treatment of the dead. “Bodies were left in the streets for days, while families were prevented from burying them according to their religious rites,” the commission stated, noting that widespread looting and the burning of homes were also documented as part of the violence.

“In terms of scale and brutality, the violence detailed in the report is extremely alarming,” said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission.

Earlier,  a Syrian investigative committee formed by the Syrian government, documented 930 testimonies related to the coastal incidents and confirmed the deaths of 1,426 individuals, including civilians and former military personnel.