Events in Syria push Middle East to brink of war — report
The report of the Independent International Commission presented in the UN Human Rights Council marks an increased interconfessional enmity that is now one of the determining factors in the conflict
GENEVA, June 17./ITAR-TASS/. Events in Syria where extremists and foreign groups financed from abroad are increasingly involved in military actions against the government forces has pushed the entire Middle East to the brink of war, goes the report of the Independent International Commission of inquiry on Syria on March 15-June 15 presented in the UN Human Rights Council.
The commission's member Vitit Muntarbhorn pointed to radicalization and consolidation of extremist groups on the other side of the Syrian border, which, he believes, makes the situation explosive. The commission also mentioned the events in neighbouring Iraq, where the militant group called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized northern provinces and headed for Baghdad.
Earlier part of the terrorist network al-Qaeda, this organization is also active in Syria. These events, the Commission believes, will have a cruel replay in Syria. The ISIL's numerous foreign mercenaries there would receive the territory that had no more borders, which was precisely what they needed for the Caliphate they sought to create, said head of the commission, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
The experts added the groups were financed from both Syrian organized crime groups and individuals from abroad.
The document reports increased interconfessional enmity that is now one of the determining factors in the conflict. The militants attack not only the Sunnis but also minority communities such as Shias, Alawites, Christians, Armenians, Druzes and Kurds. The report describes cases of the opposition shooting at civilian neighbourhoods, terror attacks, kidnapping, torture, extrajudicial killings and use of child soldiers.
Meanwhile, the government forces are accused of using aviation in shooting at civilian neighbourhoods, barrel bombing, and city siege, and blamed for growing death rates in prisons, as well as executions, arbitrary detentions and refusal to provide medical aid.