Syrian opposition coalition distances itself from armed militias

Syria's National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces announced on Friday disowning of acts of some armed militias fighting in Syria such as the Islamic State of Iraq, the Mujahideen Army, and Ansar Al-Sharia. These militias were accused by Human Rights Watch of committing war crimes in Alawite villages at the outskirts of Latakia, west of Syria, the coalition said. The incident occurred at the outskirts of Latakia is a shameful attack that was carried out by some fundamentalist militias, the coalition commented in a message it sent to Human Rights Watch, affirming at the same time its full commitment to the international law of human rights and disownment of perpetrators of the Latakia crime. According to Human Rights Watch report, rebel forces in Syria killed as many around 190 civilians, including 67 who were executed, during a military offensive last August. The villages were inhabited by members of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's Alawite sect.