Amnesty censures Syria militants rights violations

Amnesty International has accused Syria’s al-Qaeda-linked militant groups of serious human rights violations.

The London-based organization said on Thursday that the foreign-backed militants are involved in abducting, torturing and killing of detainees at secret prisons.

It also said the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) held children as young as eight years old captive in “cruel and inhuman conditions,” along with adults and sentenced them to severe floggings.

Former detainees have recounted how they were tortured with electric shocks, beaten with rubber belts or cables, and forced into painful positions known as the “scorpion,” in which the captive’s wrists are bound over one shoulder.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey – are supporting the militants operating inside the country.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria for over two years.

The UN also says more than four million other Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 by the escalating conflict in the country.

Two million Syrians are expected to take refuge outside the country while another 2.25 million are predicted to be internally displaced next year.