A/HRC/22/59
execution of hors de combat Government soldiers and militiamen, anti-Government armed
groups commit the war crime of sentencing or executing without due process.
Aleppo
18.
Five interviewees detailed killings by anti-Government armed groups in Aleppo. All
but one of those interviewed are members of anti-Government armed groups affiliated with
the FSA. Three indicated that the killings occurred only after tribunal, made up of local
religious leaders, had passed sentence.
19.
Two interviewees stated that captured “Alawite officers” had been killed after
having a death sentence passed on them by a tribunal. In one case, two soldiers were
captured and executed after defectors had indicated that one had perpetrated a rape at the
other’s orders. In the second case, the interviewee was at pains to say that while “many”
captured officers had been executed, that the tribunal did not pass such sentences on those
who did not have “blood on their hands”.
20.
An interviewee who lived in Atarib described detainees held at an FSA prison in the
village being taken to a location outside of the village and executed. The interviewee had
seen the body of one of those executed dumped on the roadside.
21.
In late October and early November, there were a series of running battles between
Kurdish militias and anti-Government armed groups in north east Aleppo. There were
reports of two killings of Kurds during this time. The first, taking place on 29 October,
involved the capture and assault of Kurdish man who later died from his injuries. The
second, an execution of a senior female Kurdish commander in the city of Aleppo on 1
November. It has not yet been possible to corroborate these reports. Investigations continue.
22.
Several videos available on Youtube purport to show killings by anti-Government
armed groups in Aleppo. These include videos purporting to show anti-Government
fighters cutting the throat of a regime supporter in Aleppo on 12 August, members of armed
groups throwing Government loyalists off the roof of a post office in Al-Bab in Aleppo on
1 September, and members of anti-Government armed groups executing captured soldiers
in the Aleppo military barracks of Masakin Hananou. It has not been possible to verity
these videos.
Damascus
23.
Five interviewees, including two perpetrators and one survivor, provided details
about killings of captured soldiers and civilians believed to be collaborating with the
Government.
24.
One interviewee recounted his role in interrogating those captured by his FSAaffiliated group. He stated that, in July, a man with an Iranian passport was captured in the
area of Sayyidah Zaynab. The interviewee stated “when we tortured” the man, he
“confessed” to the presence of multiple Hezbollah intelligence centres and snipers in
Damascus. The interviewee confirmed he had beaten the man until he had answered the
questions. The Iranian man was shot six days later and buried near Sayyidah Zaynab. The
interviewee emphasised that a death sentence had been passed by a tribunal, which reached
its verdict after considering the man’s “confession”.
25.
Another interviewee detailed how he and other members of the FSA kidnapped and
killed “an Alawi” soldier in Zamalka in October. He stated that the soldier had been
involved in the rape of a woman at a checkpoint.
GE.13-10627
57
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