Syria commits crimes against humanity in Homs: HRW | Reuters

Syria commits crimes against humanity in Homs: HRW | Reuters

clipped from article:
(Reuters) - Syrian government forces have carried out crimes against humanity as they try to crush opposition to President Bashar al-Assad in the restive province of Homs, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Friday.

It urged Arab League delegates meeting on Saturday to suspend Syria from their organization, ask the United Nations to impose sanctions on individuals responsible, and refer Syria to the International Criminal Court.

"The systematic nature of abuses against civilians in Homs by Syrian government forces, including torture and unlawful killings, constitute crimes against humanity," the group said in a statement accompanying the report.

HRW said Syrian security forces had killed at least 104 people in Homs since November 2, when the Syrian government agreed an Arab League plan aimed at ending the violence and starting a dialogue with Assad's opponents.

Those deaths followed the killings of at least 587 civilians in Homs between April and August, the group said, the highest death toll of any single governorate in the country.

"Homs is a microcosm of the Syrian government's brutality," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The Arab League needs to tell President Assad that violating their agreement has consequences, and that it now supports (U.N.) Security Council action to end the carnage."

[ read more at link]