Syria 'abducting civilians to spread terror', UN says
"Enforced disappearances are perpetrated as part of a widespread campaign of terror against the civilian population," says the study by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe that enforced disappearances were committed by government forces, as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, and therefore amount to a crime against humanity."
"Enforced disappearances are perpetrated as part of a widespread campaign of terror against the civilian population," says the study by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe that enforced disappearances were committed by government forces, as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, and therefore amount to a crime against humanity."
Syrians disappeared in 'campaign of terror'
Government forces snatching people in a 'systematic attack' on civilians, UN says.
Most witnesses have identified Syrian intelligence officers, soldiers and pro-government militias as having snatched people whose fate remains unknown, according to the independent investigators led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro.
The commission also said that some armed groups in northern Syria, especially the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), have begun to abduct people into incommunicado detention and deny their captivity. ISIL has also sought ransoms or prisoner exchanges, which constitute separate war crimes, it added.
In a separate report, London-based Amnesty International said armed groups were perpetrating "a shocking catalogue of abuses" in secret jails across northern Syria, including torture, flogging and killings after summary trials.
Government forces snatching people in a 'systematic attack' on civilians, UN says.
Most witnesses have identified Syrian intelligence officers, soldiers and pro-government militias as having snatched people whose fate remains unknown, according to the independent investigators led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro.
The commission also said that some armed groups in northern Syria, especially the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), have begun to abduct people into incommunicado detention and deny their captivity. ISIL has also sought ransoms or prisoner exchanges, which constitute separate war crimes, it added.
In a separate report, London-based Amnesty International said armed groups were perpetrating "a shocking catalogue of abuses" in secret jails across northern Syria, including torture, flogging and killings after summary trials.
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