Massacre

Several human rights organizations in Syria and civil organizations urged US diplomats for the UN to investigate a massacre in the neighborhood of Tadamon in Syria’s capital Damascus in 2013 that killed 41 civilians. The video was leaked by a horrified military after fleeing Syria. The video is date-stamped on April 16, 2013, which allegedly indicates when the vicious incident happened.

“We are writing to demand immediate action to address this massacre, which amounts to a war crime, and hold perpetrators accountable at the UN Security Council,” read a letter to Linda Thomas-Greenfield and published by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) on Monday, May 9.

Those organizations also request that the US would bring up issues at the UN Security Council and conduct an independent investigation because Washington currently holds the presidency of the council. Back in 2013, Tadamon district was a battlefront between the Syrian government against opposition forces.

The SNHR’s appeal comes nearly two weeks after a leaked video allegedly showed the evidence of gruesome acts committed by the Syrian forces. The release of the video footage has triggered an outcry, with some families recognizing their relatives being executed in the video. The footage shows blindfolded and handcuffed civilians being told to run toward a ditch in front of them. The video also shows intelligence officers of the infamous Branch 227 (branch of the military-security establishment “Military Intelligence Department” in Syria) smiling and laughing as the cruel act happens before pouring gasoline and lit the pit to remove evidence.

Activists and human rights organizations accused the Syrian Government and its alliance of committing such a horrible act and turning the protest into a prolonged civil war. Throughout the 11-year-long war, 500.000 people were estimated to have been killed and millions displaced that causing a humanitarian and economic crisis. More than 100,000 Syrians are missing, according to advocacy groups, including tens of thousands of children. The Syrian government holds the majority of them, but many families await the fate of missing loved ones who ISIL (ISIS) and other armed groups detained.

But the president, Bashar al-Assad is still leading the government, which allegedly and seems to be supported by Russia, Iran, and Lebanon. “Never before have we seen such clear evidence of a war crime committed and videotaped by Assad’s intelligence services in broad daylight, in cold blood, with no regard for the humanity of the victims or concern for consequences,” read the SNHR statement.