U.N. calls for investigation into Syria massacre

 
U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said she wanted an independent investigation into an apparent massacre carried out by Syrian opposition forces in the town of Khan al-Assal.
   
"Based on the analysis by my team to date, we believe armed opposition groups in one incident - documented by a video - executed at least 30 individuals, the majority of whom appeared to be soldiers," she said in a statement issued by her office.
   
Syrian state media have accused insurgents of killing 123 people, mainly civilians, during a rebel offensive in Aleppo province late last month.
   
A group calling itself the Supporters of the Islamic Caliphate posted a video on YouTube of around 30 bodies of young men piled up against a wall. It said they were militiamen who had supported President Bashar al-Assad.

On the field:

Activists said latest clashes in northern Syria between Kurdish opposition fighters and rebels linked to al-Qaeda have killed 12 Islamic fighters.     

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday that the clashes took place overnight in the northeastern Hassakeh province.          

The dead were all members of two al-Qaeda linked groups, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the Jabhat al-Nusra.          

The rebel-on-rebel violence turned into a war within a war earlier this week after a powerful Kurdish militia called on its supporters to fight al-Qaeda-affiliated groups to avenge a recent killing of a prominent political leader.            

Arms cache:

An army spokesman in Jordan said border police have arrested smugglers trying to sneak in a large cache of arms from neighboring Syria.         

The spokesman said the group arrested late Thursday included Jordanians and other Arab nationalities.              

The official said the arms included mainly machine guns.           

He said and an investigation had begun.         

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with army regulations.          

Jordan has been concerned that al-Qaeda-linked militants in Syria may use its territory as a haven as they escape attacks from the Syrian army.          

There is also concern that the militants may try to smuggle in weapons to use in attacks to destabilize the pro-U.S. kingdom, one of two Arabs states with a signed peace treaty with Israel.          

Chemical weapons experts:

Chemical weapons experts are gathering in the Netherlands and will depart "within days" for Syria to investigate three allegations of alleged chemical weapons use, the United Nations said Thursday.          

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Sweden's Ake Sellstrom will lead a team of about 10 experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the World Health Organization.            

The U.N. gave a green light for the investigation Wednesday following an "understanding" reached between the Syrian government and U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane and Sellstrom who visited Damascus last week.             

The team will visit the village of Khan al Assal, a village on the southwestern outskirts of the embattled city of Aleppo, which was captured by the rebels last week and was under attack by government forces Wednesday.                   

The government and rebels blame each other for a purported chemical attack on the village on March 19 that killed at least 30 people.


REUTERS/AP