Syria: UN warns of rebels war crimes

(Vatican Radio) The Syrian army has abandoned its last base near the northern town of Saraqeb after a fierce assault by rebels, further isolating the strategically important second city Aleppo from the capital. However the United Nations says rebel forces fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, appeared to have committed a war crime after seizing the base. Listen:
Saraqeb is 50 km southwest of Aleppo,and is a central junction of Syria's main north-south highway. With areas of rural Aleppo and border crossings to Turkey already under rebel control, the loss of Saraqeb leaves Aleppo further cut off from Assad's Damascus powerbase. In response to the rebels' territorial gains, Assad has stepped up air strikes against opposition strongholds, launching some of the heaviest raids so far against working class suburbs east of Damascus over the last week.
The pullout followed coordinated rebel attacks against three military posts around Saraqeb, in which 28 soldiers were killed. Several were shown in video footage prostrate on the ground being beaten and shot by rebels after they had surrendered. The United Nations said Friday the video could, if verified, represent evidence of a war crime to prosecute the perpetrators.
“Unfortunately this could be just the latest in a string of documented summary executions by opposition factions as well as by government forces and groups affiliated with them such as the Shabiha,” said Rupert Colville, the UN human rights spokesman.
Activists claim the Shabiha is a brutal militia which has been fighting alongside Syrian government forces. But they appear to be among the victims in this video. The mainly Sunni Muslim rebels are supported by Sunni states including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and neighbouring Turkey. Shi'ite Iran remains the strongest regional supporter of Assad, who is from the Alawite faith which is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

The fragmented Syrian opposition is meeting in Doha this weekend to attempt once again to form a united front to help end the 19-month uprising against Assad that has claimed more than 32,000 lives. But divisions between radical Islamists and secularists as well as between those inside Syria and opposition figures based abroad are thwarting efforts.