12-year old Palestinian Boy Beheaded by Syrian Rebels

The boy was reportedly captured during fighting on Tuesday in Handarat, north of Aleppo The boy was reportedly captured during fighting on Tuesday in Handarat, north of Aleppo © Reuters

13 July 2016
A 12 year old boy, considered a pro-government fighter, has been beheaded by Syrian rebels, later labelled an ‘individual error’

 A Syrian rebel group funded by the US has been accused of beheading a 12-year old Palestinian boy, considered a rebel fighter, in Aleppo. A video circulated on social media on 19 July shows the boy on the back of a truck being taunted by members of the rebel group before being beheaded, matching similar atrocities committed by the Islamic State (ISIS), which has killed hundreds of captives held in Iraq and Syria in the last three years.

The boy was accused of belonging to the pro-Assad government armed group known as the Jerusalem Brigade. The Noor al-Din al-Zinki group attributed this to “individual error” and unrepresentative of the group’s policy. However the Jerusalem Brigade denied that he was a fighter with them in a statement on social media, but a boy living with his family, along with other families in a poor neighbourhood of Aleppo.

The US government, which has provided military support to the Noor al-Din al Zinki rebel group, stated it was investigating the case after being questioned on whether it will continue supporting the group. An earlier report by Amnesty International (AI) has accused the rebel group of several “war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law” committed throughout the Syrian Civil War, including abductions and torture. AI further reports that the rebel group had received military and financial aid from Great Britain, France, Turkey, US, and Gulf countries.

 

To know more, read:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-beheading-idUSKCN1000TZ
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/syria-war-rebels-behead-10-year-boy-video-160720065358507.html

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