Syrian Abdul Razzaq Tlas (L), leader of the opposition Katibat al-Faruq, walks with Moroccan UN observer, Colonel Ahmed Himmiche (C), during the United Nations monitors visit to the restive city of Homs, Syria on April 21, 2012. UPI/Khaled Tallawy |
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GENEVA, Switzerland, March 18 (UPI) -- The Syrian government said Tuesday it suspects a U.N.-backed inquiry based its reporting on highly questionable testimonies.
The Syrian government said it was concerned by Tuesday's report from a commission of inquiry. It said investigators relied too much on reports from people hostile to the Syrian people and its evidence was questionable. Too often, the government said, the commission ignored the role played by terrorist groups in the country's civil war.
Some elements of al-Qaida are fighting alongside rebel forces in Syria.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chairman of the commission of inquiry, said "harrowing violence" in Syria shows no signs of subsiding after three years of civil war. The lives of at least 100,000 people, he said, have been "extinguished."
In terms of battle lines, Pinheiro said there are hundreds of different non-state groups waging war inside Syria.
"Save for the valiant efforts of humanitarian agencies and countries providing asylum to the two and a half million refugees, the international community had done little but bear witness to the plight of those caught in the maelstrom," he added in his statement.
The Syrian government said the commission should be dissolved because it couldn't perform its functions. External parties, meanwhile, should stop supporting terrorist groups inside Syria and stop meddling in national affairs.
