"They Burned My Heart"

As the United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan was negotiating with the Syrian government an end to the fighting in Syria in late March 2012, government forces launched a series of large-scale attacks against opposition-controlled towns in the northern part of Idlib governorate, near the Turkish border. Between March 22 and April 6, government forces killed at least 95 civilians in five towns, burned, destroyed and looted hundreds of houses and stores, and arbitrarily detained dozens of people, most of whom remain in detention to date. At least 35 of the killed civilians were executed when detained or otherwise under the control of government forces. This report is based on interviews with victims and witnesses conducted in five towns in Syria that came under attack during the two-week long military operation. It contains detailed descriptions of the attacks, including several incidents of mass executions.