Latest news with #UNinvestigation
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
U.N.: Syrian factions committed 'widespread and systematic' attacks on civilians in coastal violence
BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N.-backed commission that investigated sectarian violence on Syria's coast earlier this year found that there was 'widespread and systematic' violence against civilians perpetrated by some government-affiliated factions, but found no evidence that it was directed by the central government. An extensive report released Thursday by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria examined the violence that began with clashes between armed groups aligned with former Syrian President Bashar Assad and the new government's security forces in March. It then spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks and massacres that killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority to which Assad belongs. The violence came months after Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive in December and at a time when the country's new rulers were attempting to forge a new national army out of a patchwork of former insurgent factions. 'Widespread and systematic' violations The commission named several government-affiliated factions whose members allegedly took part in 'extrajudicial killings and torture and ill-treatment of primarily the civilian population of Alawi majority villages and neighborhoods in a manner that was both widespread and systematic' during the coastal violence. They include the 62nd and 76th divisions of the new Syrian army, also known as the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and the Hamza Division — both of them formerly part of a coalition made up of Turkish-backed armed factions in northwest Syria. The report also singled out the 400th Division, made up of former brigades of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group that was formerly led by Syria's current interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. However, the report said the commission 'found no evidence of a governmental policy or plan to carry out such attacks.' It also found that pro-Assad armed groups had committed 'acts that likely amount to crimes, including war crimes' during the violence. A separate investigation into the coastal violence ordered by the government released its findings last month. It concluded that some members of the new Syrian military had committed 'widespread, serious violations against civilians,' but said there was no evidence that military leaders had ordered those attacks. The government investigation found that more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed. In a letter in response to Thursday's U.N. report, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said the government takes 'serious note of the alleged violations' detailed in it the report and said that the recommendations — which included increased screening of recruits to the security forces and recruiting from minority communities — 'will serve as a roadmap for Syria's continued progress.' How the violence unfolded The U.N. commission's report noted that in the leadup to the coastal violence in March there had been scattered clashes between pro-Assad and new government forces as well as increasing incidents of 'harassment and violations' against Alawite communities, 'including killings, abductions, looting or occupation of property.' In early March, pro-Assad armed groups launched a series of attacks on the General Security forces of the new government along the coast. During the clashes that followed, pro-Assad fighters also overran hospitals, shot at and abducted journalists coming to cover the conflict, and in at least one case shot and killed women and children, the report said. With the General Security forces overwhelmed, tens of thousands of fighters from allied factions, as well as armed civilians, converged on the coast. Many began raiding houses in Alawite-majority areas, where in many cases they 'asked civilians whether they were Sunni or Alawi' and 'Alawi men and boys were then taken away to be executed,' the report found. 'Most victims were men of Alawi background, aged between 20 to 50 years, though women and children as young as one year old were also killed during house raids,' the report said. In some cases, the bodies were then desecrated, and family members were prevented from burying their dead. The report also found that there had been widespread cases of robbery and looting by armed groups. Allegations of abduction and sexual assault The commission also investigated reports of kidnapping of Alawite women and found 'credible information' of at least six cases in the weeks preceding and following the main outbreak of violence in March. It is investigating 'dozens' of other reports. In at least two of the confirmed cases, the victims were 'abducted for the purpose of forced marriage,' while in other cases, the kidnappers demanded ransoms from the victims' families. In one particularly disturbing case prior to the coastal clashes, the report said masked men dressed in black and wearing black headbands inscribed with 'There is no god but God' abducted a woman from the street and gang-raped her, then sold her to an older man to whom she was forcibly married. 'The Commission is not aware of any individuals being arrested or prosecuted yet in connection with these abductions,' the report said. Another threat to the political transition The investigation into the coastal violence comes as Syria is reeling from another outbreak of sectarian violence last month that has again threatened the country's fragile political transition after nearly 14 years of civil war. This time, clashes broke out in the southern Sweida province between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side, and fighters from the country's Druze minority on the other. Hundreds were killed and tens of thousands displaced, and allegations have surfaced of government fighters executing Druze civilians and looting and burning houses. The government has again launched an investigation into the allegations, but minority communities have become increasingly wary of the Sunni Muslim-led authorities. Last week, representatives of Syria's various ethnic and religious groups held a conference in Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syrian city and called for the formation of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural and ethnic pluralism.
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, says UN report
The UN said Myanmar's military-backed government has ignored more than 24 requests for crime details and access to the country. (EPA images pic) GENEVA : UN investigators said on Tuesday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the senior perpetrators. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIIM), formed in 2018 to analyse evidence of serious violations of international law, said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, strangulations and other forms of torture like the removal of fingernails with pliers. 'We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities,' Nicholas Koumjian, head of the IIIM said in a statement accompanying the 16-page report. The torture sometimes resulted in death, the report said. Children, who are often unlawfully detained as proxies for their missing parents, were among those tortured, it said. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The military-backed government has not responded to over two dozen requests by the UN team for information about the alleged crimes and requests to access the country, the UN report said. The military says it has a duty to ensure peace and security. It has denied atrocities have taken place and has blamed 'terrorists' for causing unrest. The findings in the report covering a one-year period through to June 30 were based on information from more than 1,300 sources, including hundreds of eyewitness testimonies as well as forensic evidence, documents and photographs. The list of perpetrators identified so far includes high-level commanders, the report said. An IIIM spokesperson declined to name them, saying investigations are ongoing and it wanted to avoid alerting the individuals. The report also said that both Myanmar security forces and opposition armed groups had carried out summary executions in the conflict, and it had identified those responsible. A government spokesperson and an opposition spokesperson were not immediately available for comment. Myanmar has been in chaos since a 2021 military coup against an elected civilian government plunged the country into civil war. Tens of thousands of people have been detained since then in an attempt to silence opponents and recruit soldiers, the UN says. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ended a four-year state of emergency last month and announced the formation of a new government, with himself as acting president, ahead of a planned election. The IIIM has been investigating abuses in Myanmar since 2011, including both crimes committed against the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017, when hundreds of thousands were forced to flee a military crackdown and violations affecting all groups since the coup. The IIIM said that it is supporting several jurisdictions investigating the alleged crimes, such as Britain. However, the IIIM said in its report that UN budget cuts are threatening its work. 'These financial pressures threaten the Mechanism's ability to sustain its critical work and to continue supporting international and national justice efforts,' it said.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, UN report says
GENEVA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - United Nations investigators said on Tuesday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the senior perpetrators. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), formed in 2018 to analyse evidence of serious violations of international law, said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, strangulations and other forms of torture like the removal of fingernails with pliers. "We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities," Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism said in a statement accompanying the 16-page report. The torture sometimes resulted in death, the report said. Children, who are often unlawfully detained as proxies for their missing parents, were among those tortured, it said. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The military-backed government has not responded to over two dozen requests by the U.N. team for information about the alleged crimes and requests to access the country, the U.N. report said. The military says it has a duty to ensure peace and security. It has denied atrocities have taken place and has blamed "terrorists" for causing unrest. The findings in the report covering a one-year period through to June 30 were based on information from more than 1,300 sources, including hundreds of eyewitness testimonies as well as forensic evidence, documents and photographs. The list of perpetrators identified so far includes high-level commanders, the report said. An IIMM spokesperson declined to name them, saying investigations are ongoing and it wanted to avoid alerting the individuals. The report also said that both Myanmar security forces and opposition armed groups had carried out summary executions in the conflict, and it had identified those responsible. A government spokesperson and an opposition spokesperson were not immediately available for comment. Myanmar has been in chaos since a 2021 military coup against an elected civilian government plunged the country into civil war. Tens of thousands of people have been detained since then in an attempt to silence opponents and recruit soldiers, the United Nations says. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ended a four-year state of emergency last month and announced the formation of a new government, with himself as acting president, ahead of a planned election. The IIMM is investigating abuses in Myanmar since 2011, including both crimes committed against the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017 when hundreds of thousands were forced to flee a military crackdown and violations affecting all groups since the coup. The IIMM said that it is supporting several jurisdictions investigating the alleged crimes, such as Britain. However, the IIMM said in its report that U.N. budget cuts are threatening its work. "These financial pressures threaten the Mechanism's ability to sustain its critical work and to continue supporting international and national justice efforts," it said.
Reuters
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Eritrea seeks to end mandate of UN expert investigating abuses, document shows
GENEVA, June 25 (Reuters) - Eritrea is trying to cancel the mandate of a U.N. expert investigating alleged abuses, a document sent to the U.N. Human Rights Council showed, in a rare move that Western diplomats fear may set a precedent for states looking to escape scrutiny. The Special Rapporteur, a position currently held by Sudanese human rights lawyer Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, is mandated to document violations in Eritrea, where civil society groups such as Human Rights Watch say impunity is widespread. In a May report he described the situation as "critical", highlighting cases of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and the use of lengthy national and military service terms that are driving thousands to flee. Eritrea's information ministry and its diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Eritrea, which has long opposed the mandate, sent a large delegation to champion its proposal at a U.N. meeting in Geneva on Monday and voiced opposition to investigations targeting individual countries' records. States like Sudan, Russia and Iran backed it while the EU and Britain were among those who opposed it in a polarised debate, diplomats said. The U.N. expert position was set up in 2012 by a group of African states and has been renewed annually by the Geneva-based council in an effort led recently by the European Union. But this year, Eritrea beat them to it and instead tabled a rival motion to discontinue the mandate, the document showed. While states subject to U.N. investigations often lobby against them or try to dilute them, rights experts say there has never before been a proposal to end a mandate put before the council in its nearly 20-year history and worry it could embolden states looking to block accountability efforts. In 2023, Ethiopia tried to end a mandate early, before backing off. "The EU recalls that the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in a state's internal affairs do not free states from their obligations under international human rights law," the EU delegate said in a statement shared with Reuters, arguing that Eritrea's lack of consent "should not be used to escape international scrutiny". Many of the Geneva-based council's other probes are typically brought by Western countries, such as those on Russia and Sudan. Sometimes the evidence they gather is used by international prosecutors. A vote is expected next month.
