- Title: USA/FILE: Amnesty International condemns alleged executions by Syrian rebels
- Date: 2nd August 2012
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 2, 2012) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SUZANNE NOSSEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA, SAYING: "There are steps that can be taken in the council, condemning these actions, calling on all governments to impose an arms embargo and stop sending through the weapons that are continuing to fuel this crisis. Those
- Embargoed: 17th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Syrian Arab Republic, Usa
- City:
- Country: USA
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA4A16J2HUEKCX9R0YFHNLT458U
- Story Text: Amnesty International USA said Thursday (August 2) that former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's resignation as the international peace envoy for Syria was a result of a paralyzed U.N. Security Council and a recalcitrant Syrian government.
Reacting to the news of Annan's resignation, Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA, told Reuters that the diplomat was "fed up".
"He took up this mantle hoping that he would be able to bring peace, to bring the parties together and what he's found is an Assad government that is totally dug in and recalcitrant, has not lived up to its obligations under a peace agreement that it signed on to. Kofi Annan has confronted a Security Council that's paralyzed, three double vetoes by China and Russia of successive resolutions, trying to address this crisis," said Nossel.
"So even a seasoned diplomat as Kofi Annan is almost throwing up his hands and really putting the responsibility I think where it belongs - on the Assad government and on leading world governments who come together in the Security Council and have an obligation to address this crisis, but have failed to do so," she added.
Annan blamed "finger-pointing and name-calling" at the U.N. Security Council for his decision to quit, even as the armed rebellion against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad becomes increasingly bloody.
As battles raged on Thursday in Syria's second city Aleppo between rebel fighters and government forces using war planes and artillery, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced in New York that Annan had said he would continue in his role till the end of the month.
Annan's mission, centred on an April ceasefire that never took hold, has looked irrelevant as fighting has intensified in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere.
In the interview with Reuters TV, Nossel also blamed inaction in the council for the worsening situation in Syria, and pointed out steps that she thinks the world body should take immediately.
"There are steps that can be taken in the council, condemning these actions, calling on all governments to impose an arms embargo and stop sending through the weapons that are continuing to fuel this crisis. Those are steps that can and should be taken, referring the Assad government and those responsible for this to the international criminal court," she said.
The fighting for Syria's two biggest cities highlights the country's rapid slide into full-scale civil war 17 months on from the peaceful street protests that marked the start of the anti-Assad uprising.
World powers have watched with mounting concern as diplomatic efforts, including Annan's mediation effort, have faltered and violence that has already claimed an estimated 18,000 lives worsens.
On Wednesday (August 1) footage emerged on social media website YouTube showing the apparent execution of four men loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
A video on YouTube shows four purported militiamen being led into a crowded yard before a prolonged barrage of gunfire is unleashed as people chant "God is Greater". As the smoke clears, a crumpled pile of bodies can be seen by a wall.
The execution appeared to have been carried out in a schoolyard at an undisclosed location in Aleppo. It took place as Assad's forces attacked residential neighborhoods with artillery and from the air to try to drive out the rebels.
In the video, which could not be independently confirmed, the men were identified as members of the pro-Assad "shabbiha" militia from the Berri family. At least two of them were in their underwear as they were led down a flight of stairs and lined up in front of a wall. Gunmen firing on them with semi-automatic rifles continued shooting after the men had fallen to the ground, their bodies piled one on top of another.
Human rights groups including Amnesty International USA have condemned the purported summary execution carried out by the rebels.
"It's very disturbing to us that this crisis has now escalated, that we are seeing what may be evidence of war crimes being perpetrated by those fighting against Assad's forces," said Nossel. "All parties need to be held accountable and this represents clearly an escalation, intensification of the crisis in its sixteenth month. So that's disturbing. We call on all parties to investigate and we understand that there is a statement that the Free Syrian Army will investigate. I think it's very important that they do so in a credible and serious way and quickly," she added.
Another video has emerged showing rebels gloating triumphantly after taking over a police station in the town of Nayrab southeast of Aleppo. The pile of bodies of government militiamen at the police station suggest that rebels are using the same tactics for which the Syrian leader's own forces have been condemned.
In New York, the U.N. General Assembly was expected to vote on Thursday on a resolution drafted by Saudi Arabia, which backs the rebels. Russia, which has consistently supported Syria at the United Nations, said it would not back the resolution because it was unbalanced and would encourage rebels to keep fighting. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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