A/HRC/21/50 town of approximately 15,000 inhabitants following an anti-Government demonstration. The eyewitnesses described in detail how the security forces entered the town after an extensive bout of shelling, arrested two brothers, Moustapha Qarsoum and ‗Adil Qarsoum, executed them and then burnt the two bodies. The shelling of Kili resulted in at least eight additional civilian deaths. Many houses of perceived opposition collaborators were burned. Tal Rifat (Aleppo), 5 April 2012 20. The commission conducted 18 interviews with five women and 13 men who had knowledge of the events in Tal Rifat on 5 April. During a demonstration that turned violent, protestors captured four members of the security forces. The four were held for ransom, with their captors threatening to kill them unless the security forces, who had surrounded the city, withdrew. The Government forces complied, and the four were released. Immediately afterwards, the 4th Division of the Syrian army raided Tal Rifat. The village was cordoned in advance. Many of the inhabitants who supported the anti-Government armed groups had already fled. One family, the Sakrans, that was openly pro-Government, and had a member working in the military security, stayed behind, as did a small number of anti-Government fighters. 21. At the end of the hostilities at least 52 corpses were discovered, including members of the Sakran family who had been burned in their home. At least seven of the antiGovernment fighters who had stayed behind were also found dead. One testimony presented evidence suggesting three people had been executed standing against a wall. Hundreds of homes were looted and burned, reportedly as punishment for the villagers who were accused of having captured the security force personnel and harbouring members of anti-Government armed groups. Taftanaz (Idlib), 3–4 April 2012 22. The commission conducted 16 interviews with persons having direct knowledge of the events of 3 April 2012 in Taftanaz, including fighters and civilians. Interviewees stated that the Syrian army launched an intensive attack on the town which had been the scene of several anti-Government protests. Multiple reports indicated that shelling from two directions commenced at 7:00 am and continued for several hours while tanks formed a cordon around the town. As civilians attempted to flee, they came under attack by helicopter gunships. The commission recorded at least six civilian casualties resulting from the shelling and gunship attacks. At the time, many men from the town reportedly took up arms and engaged the Syrian army in battle, slowing their progress into Taftanaz. The commission received reports of tanks being destroyed by anti-Government forces, the latter of which were using mosque loudspeakers to direct and motivate their fighters. Two mosques were allegedly destroyed by the Syrian army. 23. In the early hours of 4 April 2012, anti-Government forces reportedly made a tactical withdrawal from Taftanaz, leaving the way free for Government forces together with Shabbiha to enter Taftanaz and to conduct house searches. The commission recorded multiple executions occurring during these searches. In one case, the bodies of two adults and five young children were found burnt in a house. Some bodies were reportedly found with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Some of those bodies were also found blindfolded with hands tied behind their backs. Casualty estimates range from 84 to 110 people, many of them from the extended Ghazal family. Over 500 houses were reportedly looted and then burnt. According to reports received between 30 and 40 people are missing, presumed to have been arrested and detained by the Government forces during the raids. 72