UN finds violence on Alawites likely included 'war crimes'

A UN commission investigating sectarian bloodshed in Syria’s Alawite heartland documented systematic violence at the hands of government forces and allied groups, warning yesterday that some of the acts could constitute war crimes.

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The violence in March unfolded along Syria’s predominantly Alawite Mediterranean coast, where security personnel and their allies were accused of carrying out summary executions, mostly targeting civilians from the religious minority, with a war monitor saying more than 1 700 people were killed.

The UN commission said in its report yesterday that the violence committed by “members of the interim government forces and private individuals operating alongside or in proximity to them... followed a systematic pattern across multiple, widespread locations”.

“The violations included acts that likely amount to war crimes,” it said.

The commission documented cases of “murder, torture and inhumane acts related to the treatment of the dead, widespread looting and burning of homes all of which displaced tens of thousands of civilians”.