This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20177384

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Syria conflict: Amnesty condemns videoed 'execution' by rebels Syria conflict: Rebels may have committed war crime - UN
(about 2 hours later)
Amnesty International has condemned what appears to be a summary execution of Syrian government soldiers by rebel fighters in a video posted online. Syrian rebels have been accused of possibly committing a war crime after a video allegedly showing an execution of government soldiers appeared online.
The human rights group said that the killings on Thursday - if confirmed - constituted a "war crime". The UN and Amnesty International condemned the alleged killings which reportedly took place after the rebels seized army checkpoints on Thursday.
The alleged executions took place after the rebels overran army checkpoints between Damascus and Aleppo. Footage apparently shows the rebels beating soldiers before shooting them.
The army, meanwhile, continued its air strikes across Syria. In all, more than 150 people reportedly died in fighting. Unconfirmed reports say troops have now quit all bases near the strategic northern town of Saraqeb.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said more than 70 government soldiers, 43 civilians and 38 rebels were killed in Thursday's fighting. The town lies near both the main Damascus-Aleppo highway and the highway linking Aleppo to the coastal city of Latakia - making it doubly strategic.
The UK-based activist group more than 36,000 people have been killed since protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011. The army, meanwhile, continued its air strikes across Syria on Thursday.
The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. It says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be independently verified. In all, more than 150 people reportedly died in fighting, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group.
The SOHR said that among the victims were more than 70 government soldiers, 43 civilians and 38 rebels.
The claim has not been independently verified.
In a separate development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Araby would meet in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the Syrian crisis, the Arab League announced.
US warningUS warning
The video allegedly shows rebel fighters kicking and pushing about a dozen soldiers to the ground inside what appears to be a seized checkpoint. The alleged executions took place after the rebels overran the strategic army checkpoints between on Thursday.
A volley of shots is then fired into the cowering mass of bodies. The video purportedly shows the rebels kicking and pushing the soldiers to the ground inside one of the seized buildings. Shots are then seen fired into the cowering mass of bodies.
In a statement, Amnesty said: "This shocking footage depicts a potential war crime in progress, and demonstrates an utter disregard for international humanitarian law by the armed group in question." A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said: "It seems very likely that this is a war crime, another one".
He added that - if verified - the footage could be part of evidence for prosecution.
Meanwhile, Amnesty said in a statement: "This shocking footage depicts a potential war crime in progress, and demonstrates an utter disregard for international humanitarian law by the armed group in question."
No group has so far admitted carrying out the alleged killings.No group has so far admitted carrying out the alleged killings.
But it is alleged that an extremist Islamist group, the al-Nusra front, was responsible, the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon reports.But it is alleged that an extremist Islamist group, the al-Nusra front, was responsible, the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon reports.
For months, activists have reported similar summary executions by regime forces virtually every day.For months, activists have reported similar summary executions by regime forces virtually every day.
But there has been mounting evidence of similar tactics being used by some rebel groups too, although many have signed a code of practice banning such abuses, our correspondent says.But there has been mounting evidence of similar tactics being used by some rebel groups too, although many have signed a code of practice banning such abuses, our correspondent says.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier warned that radical Islamist fighters were trying to hijack the Syrian revolution.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier warned that radical Islamist fighters were trying to hijack the Syrian revolution.
The comments have drawn an angry response from some opposition leaders, who say that it is the failure of the outside world to support the uprising with practical help that has left the field open to the radicals.The comments have drawn an angry response from some opposition leaders, who say that it is the failure of the outside world to support the uprising with practical help that has left the field open to the radicals.
The SOHR more than 36,000 people have been killed since protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011.
The UK-based activist group is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. It says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be independently verified.