HRW
Syrian rebels are believed by the Human Rights Watch to have
committed “serious human rights abuses,” including kidnappings, torture
and even executions, a report of the organization said on Tuesday.
The image the HRW is creating is in contrast to the claim of “freedom
fighters” the rebels had since the first armed reaction to Assad’s
regime was noted. The Syrian regime has always maintained that what was
going on in the country was the result of an international conspiracy
and of “terrorist gangs activity,” while Russia, the powerful ally of
Damascus, has always demanded that the UN resolutions address both
sides, the government and the rebels.
In an open letter to the opposition, HRW depicts the rebel groups as
independent guerilla cells, acting autonomously, sometimes for sectarian
reasons, and resorting to kidnappings and executions of security forces
members or civilians considered allied with the government.
This kind of allegations were made last year about the rebels of the
National Transitional Council operating in Libya, suspicion hovering
even over the brutal way former dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi.
They did not stop the West from supporting NTC, as they may not deter
it now to support the Syrian rebels, who are locked in a fight to
topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which is considered responsible for the
death of 8,000 people and the displacement of tens of thousands, in a
year of conflict.
The American government announced its support for the rebels and the
determination to find ways to help the Syrian opposition get rid of
Assad’s regime. However, the president Barack Obama has refrained from
announcing a military support, including the arming of the rebels,
considering that such an action would escalate a conflict that is
already heated enough.
The same argument made on Tuesday Alain Juppe, the French foreign
minister, who turned down the proposal of Saudi Arabia to arm the Syrian
resistance.
On Tuesday, Russia demanded of the regime in Damascus to allow a
daily two-hour ceasefire so that the people who are in need of medical
attention get it. Russia also made a surprising announcement that it
would support Kofi Annan’s plan for Syria, and a UNSC resolution, if the
plan becomes subject to such a resolution.
Russia is said to have backed the plan of Annan because it does not
include the demand that Assad resign and is requiring that both sides
withdraw and sit at the negotiation table.
Russia and China vetoed two previous UNSC resolutions, last October
and in February, because Moscow considered them too aggressive toward
Assad’s regime and with no reference to the rebels operating in the
country.
Human Rights Watch’s report follows reports on human rights
infringement by the security forces, which were reported to have
kidnapped, tortured and killed civilians. The brutal acts of the rebels
are mainly said to be sectarian in nature, considering that most of the
rebels are Shia Muslims, while those who support Assad are members of
the Alawite sect, and so is the president himself.
HRW called on the Syrian opposition to condemn the atrocities
committed by the rebel factions. There was no immediate comment made by
the Syrian National Council, the most representative opposition
organization, which has its headquarter in Istanbul, Turkey.
The rebels forces have been engaged by the governmental forces over
the past few weeks and drawn out of many neighborhoods in the cities of
Homs, Deraa and Idlib. They are known for their capacity to regroup and
retake the position they had lost.
Some of the rebels are members of the Free Syrian Army, a group of
defectors who escaped the governmental army and have been inflicting
heavy casualties to the security forces ever since.
They attempted to take the capital but were pushed out of it by
security forces. One of their leaders said last year that they were
about 10,000.
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