"No one's left"

de Nadim Houry

"In the morning of May 2, 2013, Syrian government forces and pro-government militias clashed with opposition fighters in the town of al-Bayda, a village of about 7,000 residents ten kilometers from the coastal city of Baniyas. Around 1 p.m., the local opposition fighters retreated and pro-government forces entered the village and proceeded to search the houses. Over the next three hours, a familiar pattern repeated itself in most parts of al-Bayda: government and pro-government forces entered homes, separated men from women, rounded up the men of each neighborhood in one spot, and executed them by shooting them at close range. The next day, in a pattern closely resembling events in al-Bayda, witnesses told Human Rights Watch that after storming Ras al-Nabe`, a neighborhood in Baniyas, government forces and pro-government militias executed dozens of residents. Working with survivors, residents, and local activists, Human Rights Watch compiled a list of 248 individuals killed during the two days in the two towns. Based on witness accounts and video evidence reviewed, Human Rights Watch determined that the overwhelming majority were executed after the end of the military clashes in the villages and opposition fighters had retreated, making the killings in al-Bayda and Ras al-Nabe` one of the deadliest instances of mass executions in Syria's increasingly bloody conflict. Human Rights Watch called on the UN Security Council to ensure accountability for these crimes by referring the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court and demanding that Syria cooperate fully with the UN Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry, including by giving it unrestricted access to al-Bayda and Baniyas" --P. [4] of cover.