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Syria: Investigate Killing of Kurds
Hold Accountable Those Responsible for Unlawful Killings
( New
York, March 24, 2008) – Syrian authorities should seek an
independent investigation into the March 20 shootings by
security forces that left three Kurds dead and at least five
wounded at a New Year’s celebration, Human Rights Watch said
today. The circumstances of the shootings raise concerns that
state security forces used unnecessary lethal force in violation
of international law.
On March 20 at about 7:00 p.m., Syrian internal security forces
opened fire on Kurds celebrating the New Year (“Nowruz”) in the
largely Kurdish town of Qamishli in northeastern Syria,
eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch. The shots killed Muhammad
Yahya Khalil and Muhammad Zaki Ramadan immediately. A third man,
Muhammad Mahmud Hussein, died later from his wounds. All three
were between 18 and 25 years old. Those wounded include
Muhieldin Hajj Jamil `Issa, Karam Ibrahim Yusif, Muhammad Kheir
Khalaf `Issa, Riad Yussef Sheikhi, and Khalil Sulayman Hussein.
“Syrian officials have to justify why security forces opened
fire at a Kurdish celebration,” said Joe Stork, Middle East
director at Human Rights Watch. “Those responsible for using
unnecessary lethal force should be brought to justice.”
This is not the first time that Syrian forces have used force to
break up a Kurdish celebration. In March 2006, security officers
arrested dozens of Kurds and used teargas and batons to stop a
candle-lit night procession in celebration of Nowruz.
Participants in this year’s festivities told Human Rights Watch
that about 200 people gathered around 6:30 p.m. on a road in the
western part of Qamishli. They lit candles on the side of the
road and a bonfire in the middle, around which some performed a
Kurdish traditional dance. “This was a celebration of Nowruz,
not a political demonstration,” one of the participants told
Human Rights Watch.
Firefighters appeared on the scene to extinguish the bonfire
while police and intelligence officers fired teargas canisters
and live ammunition in the air to disperse the crowds. Two
participants told Human Rights Watch that when the celebrants
failed to disperse, individuals wearing civilian clothes and
driving in a white pick-up truck of the type usually used by
intelligence officials fired their assault rifles into the crowd.
“Without any warning, they started firing to the ground and
suddenly bullets started flying indiscriminately,” an eyewitness
told Human Rights Watch.
It is unclear what provoked the security forces to fire into the
crowd. According to three participants in the celebrations, none
of the Kurds were armed or resorted to violence. Reuters
reported that one resident in Qamishli told them that some
“youths burned tires and threw stones at the riot police,” but
Human Rights Watch was unable to confirm this claim.
Syrian authorities have not issued an official statement on the
incident.
“The Syrian authorities have little credibility when it comes to
investigating their own prior misdeeds,” Stork said. “To prove
the skeptics wrong, they need to hold a transparent and
independent investigation.”
In policing demonstrations, security forces should abide by the
United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms
by Law Enforcement Officials, Human Rights Watch said. These
international standards call on law enforcement officials to
apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force, and
then
only use force in proportion to the seriousness of the offense.
Security forces should use lethal force only when strictly
unavoidable to protect life.
For more of Human Rights Watch’s work on Syria, please visit:
http://hrw.org/doc?t=mideast&c=syria
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