After massacres, UN urges Syria to protect all people regardless of religion, ethnicity

The UN Security Council on Friday condemned recent massacres of civilians in Syria and urged its transitional authorities to respect all people regardless of religion or ethnicity.

In a statement, the council said it condemned widespread violence in western Syria since March 6 that has included mass killings of civilians, particularly among the Alawite community, which is associated with ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad.

 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has called for an immediate cessation of mass executions on a sectarian basis in Syria’s northwestern regions.

"Following a series of coordinated attacks reportedly launched by elements of the former government and other local armed men, we are receiving extremely disturbing reports of entire families, including women, children and hors de combat fighters, being killed. There are reports of summary executions on a sectarian basis by unidentified perpetrators, by members of the caretaker authorities’ security forces, as well as by elements associated with the former government," he said in a statement.

"The killing of civilians in coastal areas in northwest Syria must cease, immediately," he stressed and called on Syria’s interim government to investigate these murders and take prompt measures to protect the civilian population.