A/HRC/21/50 an altercation with Alawi members of the neighboring village of Al-Twaime. Anticipating reprisal, the villager requested support from members of the FSA, including seven defectors from the nearby village of Grejis. According to the Government, when they arrived at the village, the FSA elements shot at some of the men in Al-Twaime. The men from AlTwaime alerted Government security forces. 14. From evidence collected, it appears that after shelling the houses where the antiGovernment forces were holed up, ground forces moved in. They were supported by the Shabbiha who also deployed in the area. An eye-witness stated that many people were killed and injured in the shelling. The injured were reportedly executed by the Shabbiha, and their bodies burned in the houses. Video footage taken during the visit of UNSMIS monitors shows bullet holes on an interior wall of a house, accompanied by blood splattering, suggestive of deliberate killing. The number of deceased has not been confirmed and varies from the Government‘s account of 40, a figure that includes both killed and missing, to 78, a figure put forward by anti-Government activists. Under both accounts, at least two women and four children were among those killed. 15. In its report the Government described how it deployed to the village with security forces in response to a request from villagers seeking protection from ―terrorists‖. It mentioned the use of RPGs and light arms in its assault on Al-Qubeir. According to the Government‘s inquiry, initially its forces were repelled and at least one officer was killed, while several more were wounded. Reinforcements were brought in and, according to the report, ―shelled also the places where the terrorists were stationed with RPG shells‖. The clash ended on the same day at about 8:00 pm and resulted in the deaths of a number of the terrorists‖. According to the report, security forces attacked only the house of Alman Al Yatim where allegedly the ―terrorists‖ were located. 16. The report also states that the bodies of some women and children were examined by a forensic pathologist who determined that they had been killed by gunfire at close range prior to the arrival of the security forces in the village – the implication being that the perpetrators were the ―terrorists‖. 17. It is likely that many people died as a result of shelling. Some clearly died from gunshot wounds. However, some of these individuals may have been directly participating in the hostilities, which means targeting them would not be illegal under international law. 18. The commission found that a reasonable suspicion exists that unlawful killing of civilians or hors de combat fighters occurred at the hands of pro-Government forces, including Shabbiha from neighboring villages. This conclusion is based on the following factors: the eyewitness account; the Government‘s report and other materials gathered indicating that residents of Al-Qubeir were feuding with their Alawi neighbors, providing a motive for reprisals; and the FSA and defectors having been invited to Al-Qubeir by villagers seeking their protection. Al-Houla (Homs), 25 May 2012 See A/HRC/21/50, paras. 41–50. Kili, Idlib governorate, 6 April 2012 19. The commission interviewed six men and two women who gave accounts of extrajudicial killings in raids on the village of Kili in early April. Security forces entered this Alawite villages around Al-Qubeir have died fighting for Assad against the rebels. They wanted revenge, and so they took it out on the nearest Sunni village.‖ 71