UN rights chief calls on Syria to stop killings

             The top United Nations human rights official called on Syria on Monday to rein in its security forces and investigate the reported killing of 100 protesters over the weekend. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay also urged President Bashar al-Assad and his government to implement promised reforms and release detained activists and political prisoners. "The first step now is to immediately halt the use of violence, then to conduct a full and independent investigation into the killings, including the alleged killing of military and security officers, and to bring the perpetrators to justice," Pillay, a former UN war crimes judge, said in a statement. Syrian troops and tanks stormed Deraa on Monday, residents said, seeking to crush resistance in the city where a month-long uprising against the autocratic 11-year rule of Assad first erupted. Rights groups say security forces have killed more than 350 civilians since unrest broke out in the southern city on March 18. A third of the victims were shot in the past three days as the scale and breadth of a popular revolt against Assad grew. Assad lifted Syria's 48-year state of emergency on Thursday. But Pillay said the government's response to the unrest had been erratic, "with paper reforms followed by violent crackdowns on protesters". "Just a few days after the announcement of sweeping and important reforms, we are seeing such disregard for human life by Syrian security forces. The killings must stop immediately," she said. Assad had instructed security forces not to resort to violence against demonstrators, but the excessive use of force had only intensified in recent days, according to Pillay. "The government has an international legal obligation to protect peaceful demonstrators and the right to peaceful protest," she said. Scores of protesters, activists and journalists had been arrested, she said. They must be released and allowed to work without fear of reprisals or arrest. Pillay said that during a meeting with Syrian diplomats last week she had called for the government to take further steps and amend laws that obstruct fundamental freedoms. "The violence and ongoing repression of activists, however, indicates that either the government is not serious about those reforms or it is unable to control its own security forces," she said. Security agents cannot be allowed to run amok and must be held accountable for their actions. "I strongly urge President Assad and his government to rapidly implement promised reforms to restore the people's confidence," she said. (21,49)