UN: Syrian civil war increasingly sectarian
Source: Associated Press
BRUSSELS (AP) -- Syria's civil war is increasingly turning into a sectarian conflict pitting majority Sunni rebels against government forces supported by the country's religious and ethnic minorities, a new U.N. human rights report said Thursday.
Sergio Pinheiro, who heads an independent commission investigating abuses, said the bulk of the victims of the nearly two-year war were civilians, and blamed both sides for abuses including torture and illegal executions.
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The report, commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council, found that foreign fighters, many linked to extremist Sunni groups, are infiltrating into Syria. They are operating in independent units that coordinate actions with the Free Syrian Army - the Western-backed armed group which is the rebels' main military force.
"The commission is extremely worried by the presence of foreign fighters ... who are not fighting for human rights and democracy," Pinheiro told reporters in Brussels. "By their own admission, they are very proud of their breaches of humanitarian law."
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