A/HRC/21/50 Sarmin (Idlib), 22–23 March 2012 24. According to six witnesses, the army began shelling the town of Sarmin in the early hours of 22 March 2012. Sarmin had been the scene of anti-Government protests and the base of dozens of defectors and other members of anti-Government armed groups. Most of the civilian population and members of anti-Government armed groups fled before the attack. During the shelling, which, according to witnesses was falling in random locations, 18 people were killed. The army entered Sarmin on 23 March 2012 and, in line with established practice, commenced house searches. Snipers were positioned on rooftops. The commission received reports of men being shot either during searches or while on the street. In one corroborated account, three men, all in their 20s, were taken outside during a house search and shot in the front-yard in the presence of their families. The victims were family members of a well-known lieutenant from the 15th Division Special Forces who had defected. Reports from credible sources describe approximately 300 people arrested during the search operation, of which 10 were killed shortly afterwards. Some were later released; others were reportedly still held at the time of writing. Ain Larouz (Idlib), 4–12 March 2012 25. On 4 March 2012, four officers defected from an army base in Aranba and hid in the nearby village of Ain Larouz. Shortly after sunset, military and security forces raided the village looking for the four defectors. They searched houses, burned shops and vehicles and mistreated residents. They detained approximately 35 persons, including two women and a 10-year-old girl. Security forces were reported to have announced over the mosque loudspeakers a warning with a deadline for the people to hand over the defectors or else they would execute the captives and burn down the village. Following the threats most villagers fled. 26. Five days later, on 9 March, the army blockaded the roads and began to shell the village after positioning snipers on rooftops. According to four witnesses, several persons who tried to flee were shot, either by snipers or by pursuing ground forces. Although the defecting officers were not found, the army released most captives three days later, save for four persons - believed to be relatives of the officers – whose bodies were found outside the city a few days later. Yabroud (Rif Dimashq), 4 March 2012 27. A defector recalled how, on 4 March, he deployed to Yabroud village to take part in an operation. Upon arrival, he joined a battalion of tanks and six buses of security and Shabbiha elements. He and the others were ordered to raid the village after it was shelled. An informer accompanied them in the village and pointed out the houses of activists and defectors. 28. A group of people had fled towards a neighbouring mountainous area, but were still visible to the soldiers. The commanding officer, after consulting his superiors, went back inside a tank and fired a round at the group of approximately 60 people, apparently killing dozens. The commission could not verify the profile of this group, which may have included members of anti-Government armed groups. Atarib (Aleppo), February–April 2012 29. The commission conducted 17 interviews with persons with direct knowledge of the events in Atarib in February and in April 2012. The town had been the scene of several anti-Government protests. In the early afternoon of 14 February 2012, Government forces and FSA fighters clashed in Jabal Karmin, three kilometres from Atarib. On the evening of the same day, Government forces attacked Atarib. The town was reportedly shelled by 73