Militants routinely kill captured Syrian soldiers

Amnesty International says the foreign-backed militant groups ‘routinely’ kill captured Syrian soldiers.

The rights organization said on Thursday that captured ‘Shia or Alawite Muslims’ are the main targets of militants in Syria.

Cilina Nasser of Amnesty said, “It’s time for the armed opposition groups to know that what they are doing is very wrong, and that some of the abuses they committed amount to war crimes.”

Amnesty also stated that it had investigated several videos purportedly showing militants killing captives, adding there had been reports of ‘summary executions’ by the armed groups.

Unrest has gripped Syria since March 2011 and the government says the turmoil, which has killed many people, including large numbers of Syrian army and security personnel, is being orchestrated from outside the country.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that the government did not start the conflict and the militant groups were the ones killing Syrian citizens and destroying the country’s infrastructure.

A recent report by the UK-based Save the Children organization said the militants are using children as “porters, runners and human shields.”