Syria Rebels Execute 20 Army Soldiers, Rights Group Says

Syrian rebels in the city of Aleppo have killed 20 army soldiers execution-style, the Observatory for Human Rights in Syria said in an e-mailed statement.

An amateur video of the incident, posted on YouTube, showed dead soldiers in military uniforms, handcuffed and blindfolded laying on a sidewalk and surrounded by armed men shouting “God is Great” and “these are the dogs of Assad.” Another voice can be heard identifying the location as the Hanano area in Aleppo.

Activists told Al Jazeera television that the dead soldiers were defectors and were killed by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The authenticity of the video couldn’t be verified.

In response to the video, Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Ageidi, head of the rebels’ military council in Aleppo and its suburbs told Al Jazeera, “We totally condemn such action.” He said he didn’t know the soldiers were killed by rebels or the Army.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zaid Sabah Abd Alhamid in Washington at zalhamid@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net