A/HRC/21/50 reasonable grounds to believe that the perpetrators of the crime, at both the Abdulrazzak and Al-Sayed family locations, were Government forces and Shabbiha members. 50. There are also reasonable grounds to believe that these acts were part of a series of attacks directed against civilians, and as such, formed part of the conclusion (see section C below) that crimes against humanity were perpetrated by the Government and Shabbiha. Unlawful killing11 C. 51. Cases of attacks on civilians, murder and extrajudicial executions rose sharply during the reporting period. The commission conducted some 300 interviews as it investigated incidents alleging the unlawful killing of civilians and hors de combat fighters. The incidents that occurred in the contexts described below were corroborated by multiple accounts.12 While both parties to the conflict perpetrated unlawful killings, the gravity, frequency and scale of the violations committed by Government forces and Shabbiha was, according to information available, well in excess of those committed by anti-Government armed groups. 1. Government forces and Shabbiha 52. Most unlawful killings occurred in the context of attacks against the strongholds of anti-Government armed groups. According to the most prominent pattern, attacks began with a blockade of the area and shelling, 13 followed by an assault by ground forces, including special forces and Shabbiha. Snipers were used extensively.14 On securing the area, Government forces undertook house-to-house searches. Defectors, activists and fighting-age men were systematically sought out during these operations. Wounded or captured anti-Government fighters were executed. In some cases, family members of fighters, defectors and activists, as well as others who appeared to have been randomly selected, were also executed. 53. This pattern was recorded in, inter alia, Tremseh, Al Qubeir, Al-Houla, Kili, Tal Rifat, Taftanaz, Sarmin, Ain Larouz, Atarib, Abdita, Homs and Al Qusayr. 54. Excessive force continued to be used against demonstrators exercising their right to peaceful protest in Al Qamishli in March, and in Damascus, Aleppo and Jabal Al Zawiya in April. 55. The commission finds that the cases of unlawful killing described in the present report provide reasonable grounds to believe that the Government forces and Shabbiha violated provisions of international human rights law protecting the right to life. Furthermore, many of the same killings met the elements of the war crime of murder under international criminal law.15 56. Attacks were frequently directed against civilians and civilian objects. Although the Government‘s stated aim was to attack ―terrorists‖, the attacks were directed at 11 12 13 14 15 12 See also annex II, paras. 30–42. For a full account of the unlawful killings investigated by the commission, see annex V. For more information on shelling, see annex VI. Snipers regularly accompanied forces during ground assaults and were responsible for a significant number of civilian deaths. The commission recorded 35 instances of civilians shot by snipers. Dozens of interviewees described the detrimental psychological and social effects of the presence of snipers in their neighborhood. People feared leaving their houses and, when shelling started, feared staying at home. Rome statute, art. 8 (2) (c) (i) – 1. See also annex II, paras. 30–42.