Syria video points to ‘shoot to kill’ policy of security forces

26 May 2011

AN IMPORTANT VIDEO

"Amnesty International has obtained video footage that points to a ”shoot to kill” policy being used by the Syrian security forces to quell reform protests.

The footage, smuggled out of Syria by contacts of Amnesty International, shows protesters shot and beaten by security forces, soldiers conducting a night raid on the ‘Omari mosque in Dera’a and a mass funeral in Izraa.

“These extraordinary images were taken by Syrians who have risked their lives to document the callous attempts of the authorities to terrorize the pro-reform movement from going out onto the streets,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Faced with this and other compelling evidence of rampant abuses, President Bashar al-Assad must stop the Syrian security forces shooting unarmed protesters and ensure that perpetrators are held to account for their treatment of fellow Syrians.”

The video includes scenes of:

• The military raiding the ‘Omari mosque, which was being used as a field hospital.
• Soldiers armed men in plain clothes inside the mosque after their operation, filming bodies on the floor, celebrating and shouting “Take pictures, we killed them, they are traitors”.
• Badly injured, possibly dead, individuals being carried hurriedly away.
• People who appear to have sustained severe head injuries and in some cases to have died as a result.
• Two scenes of uniformed members of the security forces bludgeoning injured men lying on the road.
• Testimony from an ambulance worker who tells of how the army would not let anyone tend to the wounded.......

Amnesty International has the names of more then 720 people believed to have been killed by the Syrian security forces during the past two months of unrest sparked by protests throughout the region.

“These videos add to the damning collection of reasons why the UN Security Council must take decisive action and refer Syria to the International Criminal Court over its brutal crackdown against pro-reform protesters,” said Philip Luther."

Click Here for Arabic Version of Video