Syrian troops tortured children, says UN

Syrian troops have killed hundreds of children and committed other crimes against humanity since the government crackdown began in March, a UN investigation has said.

At least 256 children were killed by government forces as of early November, some tortured to death, according to the report released yesterday by a panel of independent experts.

The report said that men and boys had been sexually tortured at military detention facilities, and a two-year-old girl shot to death to prevent her from growing up to be a demonstrator.

“Torture was applied equally to adults and children,” said the panel’s report to the UN Human Rights Council.

Among its details were that “numerous testimonies indicated that boys were subjected to sexual torture in places of detention in front of adult men”.

The panel said government forces “shot indiscriminately at unarmed protesters”, while snipers targeted others in the upper body and head.

Syrian security forces co-operating with militias were given “shoot to kill” orders to crush demonstrations.

“These crimes include murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence,” said the panel’s chairman, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian professor. “We have a very solid body of evidence.”

The panel’s members and staff were not allowed into Syria, but the commission said that it had interviewed 223 victims and witnesses, including defectors from Syria’s military and security forces, since September.

The UN Human Rights Council named Mr Pinheiro, Turkish women’s rights expert Yakin Erturk and Karen Abu Zayd, a US citizen and former head of UNRWA, the UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees, to lead an investigation into allegations of human rights abuses in Syria.

The commission was asked to follow up on a report from the UN human rights office that crimes against humanity may have occurred during Syria’s crackdown since March against anti-government protesters, and to find those responsible.

The report said: “In the Syrian Arab Republic, the high toll of dead and injured is the result of the excessive use of force by state forces in many regions.”

It called for protection for the Syrian population and for an international embargo on arms sales to Syria.

The report added that there had been “isolated instances” of violence by demonstrators, but the “majority of civilians were killed in the context of peaceful demonstrations”.

Syrian forces have used snipers and tanks to suppress the uprising and drawn up “black lists” with names of people wanted by the authorities and sought at checkpoints, it said.

“Defectors from the military and security forces told the commission that they had received orders to shoot at unarmed protesters without warning,” the report said.

“Some soldiers who disobeyed these orders were shot by the security forces or by army snipers.”

The UN Security Council stopped short of taking action against Syria when China and Russia vetoed a resolution in October.

After continuing international criticism of president Bashar al-Assad’s handling of the crisis, the Arab League approved sanctions against Syria on Sunday.

Syria reacted sharply to the sanctions yesterday, betraying a deep concern over the economic impact.

Foreign minister Walid al-Moallem said Syria had withdrawn 95 per cent of its assets in Arab countries.

Economy minister Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar said once the sanctions took hold, “sources of foreign currency would be affected”. The comment reflected concern that Arab investment in Syria will fall off and transfers from Syrians living in other Arab countries will also drop.

Mr Moallem called the sanctions “economic warfare”, and said Syria had means to retaliate.

“Sanctions are a two-way street,” he warned in a televised news conference. “We don’t want to threaten anyone, but we will defend the interests of our people.”

Nevertheless, he tried to play down the impact, insisting Syria was self-sufficient.