Syria Today: More Than 100 Claimed Deaths on a "Quiet" Monday

Residents digging through rubble in Kafar Hamra section of Aleppo after Sunday's missile strike

See also Syria Document: Report of UN Commission of Inquiry on "War Crimes"
Middle East Today: Turkey --- 1st Death as Protests Spread
Monday's Syria Today: Deadly Clash Between Insurgents and Hezbollah in Lebanon

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There was little apparent political and military movement on Monday, with the regime siege of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, continuing and reports of fighting in Hama and Daraa Provinces.

Despite the relative quiet, the Local Coordination Committees claimed another 106 deaths. The total included at least 26 casualties from a regime missile strike on a neighbourhood in Aleppo on Sunday.

In addition to 40 deaths in Aleppo Province, there were 21 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs, and 12 martyrs in Idlib Province.

The Violations Documentation Center reports that 62,638 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since March 2011, an increase of 93 from Sunday. Of the deaths, 48,459 were civilians, a rise of 52 from yesterday.

Three people were also killed and 30 others wounded in ongoing clashes in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of the Assad regime.

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US Cautious About Claims of Regime Use of Chemical Weapons

The White House has been cautious about a French finding that the regime has used chemical weapons.

"We need more information" about claims of such use, spokesman Jay Carney said.

Carney said there is a need to gather more evidence to pin down when chemical weapons were used, who employed them, and what the chain of custody was: "[We must] establish a body of information that can be presented and reviewed, and upon which policy decisions can be made."

Carney had no timetable for when the review might be completed, although he said, "I can assure you that we are working very diligently as an administration with our allies and the Syrian opposition on this matter."

Human Rights Watch: 147 Probably Executed by Government Forces

After conducting a thorough investigation, Human Rights Watch reports that “At least 147 people whose bodies were found in the city of Aleppo’s river between January and March, 2013, were probably executed in government-controlled areas.”

HRW examined photographs, video footage and witness statements, interviewed local residents and activists who found the bodies, as well as a forensic expert who examined them, and families of the victims, observing that “many of the victims bore signs of having been detained and then executed, such as hands tied behind their back, gunshot wounds to their head, and tape across their mouth.”

The report acknowledges that the “investigation is not definitive in terms of who is responsible for the executions or their motivation,” but concludes that “the location where the bodies were discovered and information about the victims’ last known whereabouts indicate that the executions most likely took place in government-controlled areas.”

As Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher at HRW, put it:

“The bodies floating down Aleppo’s river tell a grisly tale... It’s hard to see how 147 people could have been executed and their bodies flung in the river in government-controlled territory, as the evidence indicates, without the knowledge of government forces operating in the area.

UN Commission: "Reasonable Grounds" That Chemical Weapons Used

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, saying that regime leaders must be held accountable for implementing a "concerted policy" of human rights violations, added that it has "reasonable grounds" to believe that limited amounts of chemical weapons have been used.

Commenting on Tuesday on its report based on interviews with victims, medical staff, and other witnesses, the Commission said it had received allegations that Syrian government forces and rebels had used the banned weapons, but that most testimony related to their use by President Assad's forces.

The inquiry said conclusive findings can be reached only after testing samples taken directly from victims or the site of the alleged attacks. It called on Damascus to allow a team of experts into the country.

"War crimes and crimes against humanity have become a daily reality in Syria where the harrowing accounts of victims have seared themselves on our conscience," the report said.

In an apparent reaction to the European Union's lifting of an embargo on weapons to insurgents, the Commission warned that the transfer of arms would heighten the risk of violations, leading to more civilian deaths and injuries: "There is a human cost to the increased availability of weapons."

Insurgent PR Video: We Repelled Hezbollah Attack on Qusayr

A 24-minute video from insurgents proclaiming the defeated of a Hezbollah attack on the besieged town of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border:

Prime Minister Promises Reconstruction "After Crisis Ends"

Meeting a United Nations official, Prime Minister Wael al-Halki declared on Monday that "the government is mobilizing all national resources for the reconstruction and comprehensive development process after the crisis ends, and [is working] to improve the millennium development goals indicators".

The Prime Minister insisted that "the government will continue to offer" all necessary assistance for delivery of food and medicine "to citizens in all areas" and that the regime "is ready to cooperate with all international organisations in various fields according to the principle of national sovereignty".

Al-Halki's comments stand in contrast to the UN's complaint that it has repeatedly been denied access to residents affected by fighting. Last weekend, the UN and international organisations appealed for aid and evacuation of people trapped by the battle for Qusayr, near the Lebanese border.

The regime responded that access would be allowed once its military had re-established control over the town.