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UN: Syrian Forces Killed, Tortured 256 Children

Human Rights Council adds to pressure on President Assad

By the Associated Press

Posted Nov 28, 2011 6:20 PM CST

(AP) – A UN investigation concluded today that Syrian forces committed crimes against humanity by killing and torturing hundreds of children, including a 2-year-old girl reportedly shot to death so she wouldn't grow up to be a demonstrator. The inquiry added to mounting international pressure on President Bashar Assad, a day after the Arab League approved sweeping sanctions to push his embattled regime to end the violence.

The report by a UN Human Rights Council panel found that at least 256 children were killed by government forces between mid-March and early November, some of them tortured to death. "Torture was applied equally to adults and children," said the assessment, released in Geneva. "Numerous testimonies indicated that boys were subjected to sexual torture in places of detention in front of adult men." The UN investigation is the latest in a growing wave of international measures pressuring Damascus to end its crackdown.

Brazilian Paulo Sergio Pinheiro gestures during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Monday, Nov 28, 2011.
Brazilian Paulo Sergio Pinheiro gestures during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Monday, Nov 28, 2011.   (Anja Niedringhaus)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 12 comments
Silverbow7
Nov 30, 2011 4:03 PM CST
It looks like we are being super-primed to go into another war. How will we manage to get the American public to agree to go into yet another usless war? Ah. Dead children always worked before...They always use these horror stories to gain approvel for wars. Remembr how we got into the war in vietnam? That was US killing those children. How about weapons of mass distruction, also BS. I'm so sick of these government tatics. How many children, along with the innocent men and women will they kill to ' save children' ? They are lying to you. Stop being such fools. They need your approvel to get into this war and will get it because wars do not hurt enough yet. We have 10,000 children a year dying deaths evey bit as awful right here in America. That is about 27 children dying horrible deaths a DAY. You moan and cry for them for about 2 minutes doing nothing to change it.   Wake up!  Stop these war freaks. At least stop buying their crap. Know what they are doing even if we can't stop them...Yet. They have divided the Ameican people with partisan lies. It is time tp wise up to partisan posters who work for special government intrerests planting lies and yelling over those who bring the truth. Governments do not care a whit about children. They do not vote.   Make a sign and go protest the lack of funding for child protection services and stop moaning and crying about all those dead children if you really care about keeping children alive. Lets put our own house in order first.   As for the poor dead children in Lybia... I will not believe without proof and proof is not someone saying it is... Not any more. Are we going to be stupid about how low those who will do anything, say anything, to gain or keep power as their main goal? They fall all the way to using children. Your children are included, by the way. The ones who will go fight in this war.  Remember, we get the government we deserve. And in case you have not yet noticed, they don't care much about you either, peons.
JackNelsonSteward
Nov 29, 2011 6:03 AM CST
I hope that the current Syrian regime is captured intact.  That way they can be tried for this savagery and the proper punishments can be meted out. There is no sanity in the pre-emptive killing of a "demonstrator" at age two.
Sphinx
Nov 29, 2011 5:19 AM CST
I get that everyone has their own agenda, but there's not a single post on here expressing any kind of sadness or compassion towards these children. Shame on you.

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