BEIRUT — An amateur video that appears to show a unit of Syrian rebels kicking terrified, captured soldiers and then executing them with machine guns raised concerns Friday about rebel brutality at a time when the United States is making its strongest push yet to forge an opposition movement it can work with.
U.N. officials and human rights groups think President Bashar Assad’s regime is responsible for the bulk of suspected war crimes in Syria’s 19-month-old conflict, which began as a largely peaceful uprising but has transformed into a brutal civil war.
But investigators of human rights abuses say rebel atrocities are on the rise.
At this stage, “there may not be anybody with entirely clean hands,” said Suzanne Nossel, head of the rights group Amnesty International.
The U.S. has called for a major leadership shake-up of Syria’s political opposition during a crucial conference next week in Qatar. Washington and its allies have been reluctant to give stronger backing to the largely Turkey-based opposition, viewing it as ineffective, fractured and out of touch with fighters trying to topple Assad.
The new video adds to growing concerns about those fighters and could complicate Washington’s efforts to decide which of the myriad opposition groups to support.
“We condemn human rights violations by any party,” said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, commenting on the video. “Anyone committing atrocities should be held to account.”
She said the Free Syrian Army has urged its fighters to adhere to a code of conduct it established in August, reflecting international rules of war.
On Friday, at least 143 people were killed in gun battles, regime shelling attacks on rebel-held areas and other violence, the Observatory said.
Sad days in syria
Some atrocities committed over the course of the Syrian conflict.
• Friday: A video appeared to show Syrian rebels killing a group of captured soldiers, spraying them with bullets after kicking and beating them as they lay on the ground.
• Late August: Activists reported that between 300 and 600 people were killed in the Damascus suburb of Daraya over several days in a killing spree by troops and pro-regime militiamen who stormed the town after heavy fighting and days of shelling.
• Sept. 10: A video showed what appeared to be the extrajudicial executions of 21 government soldiers in Hanano in the city of Aleppo. The dead soldiers — bloodied, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs — were seen lying dead on the pavement as a rebel says: “These are Assad’s dead dogs.”
• May 12: Activists said men in civilian clothes gunned down people in the streets and stabbed women and children in their homes after anti-government protests in Houla. The U.N. said at least 108 people were killed, including 34 women and 49 children. Assad’s regime denied its forces carried out the attack. The Associated Press
