A/HRC/22/59 21. The information collected and corroborated indicates that the conduct of Government forces in Jedaydet Artouz on 1 August had a strong punitive element. The military operation, apparently in retaliation for an assassination, was focused on a majoritySunni neighbourhood, raising concerns that there was a sectarian vein to the conduct of Government forces. 22. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Syrian soldiers perpetrated the war crime of murder, as they conducted house-to-house searches, arrested male residents, and summarily executed them. The death of 60 residents, all of them male bar one, amounts to a mass perpetration of a war crime, in violation of the Common Article 3 prohibition on killing persons hors de combat or civilians not taking active part in hostilities. It is clear that the 17 adult males killed in close quarters with their hands tied behind their back were either civilians or hors de combat fighters. C. Daraya, 25 August 23. In Damascus governorate, investigations focused on the widely reported killings in Daraya. Allegations were made against anti-Government armed groups, though most accounts attributed responsibility to Government forces. Credible and corroborated accounts indicate that anti-Government fighters sought refuge in Daraya, fleeing from fighting in other areas. Government forces shelled Daraya from 20 to 24 August, after which they moved into the town together with Shabbiha. Interviewees described how antiGovernment armed group fighters fled Daraya, Government forces executed civilians who had decided to stay in their homes. 24. Many young men, some of whom may have been defectors or anti-Government armed group members who had put down their arms, reportedly fled to an area referred to as “the gardens” (Mazare). Government forces attacked “the gardens” on 25 August killing over one hundred people, reportedly through extensive gunfire and shooting at close range at those hiding in the area. Further accounts describe Shabbiha conducting house searches, looking for fighting aged men. Bodies bearing clear signs of summary execution were later found in various shelters around Daraya. Video footage and photographs of the aftermath of the events in Daraya show scores of bodies, including those of women and children. Syrian state media reported that Daraya had been “cleansed” of armed ‘terrorist’ groups. This incident requires further investigation. 25. While the massacre in Daraya requires further investigation, there are reasonable grounds to believe that Government forces perpetrated the war crime of murder against hors de combat fighters, or civilians taking no active part in hostilities, including women and children. The credible and corroborated evidence collected indicates that fighting aged males were sought out for execution, in violation of Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, of persons taking no active part in hostilities. D. Harak, 18–26 August 26. Multiple sources from Harak in Dara’a Governorate provided accounts of events that took place between 18 and 26 August 2012. Harak was once home to 40,000 Sunnis. The population of Harak has reduced to around 5,000 by the end of 2012. Most sources interviewed were civilians who fled Harak when Government forces approached the town on 18 August and returned when Government forces withdrew on 26 August. One source interviewed was an FSA fighter present in Harak from 18 to 25 August. All interlocutors accused Government forces of mass killing in Harak at this time. All interviewees placed 48 GE.13-10627