Syrian civilians are facing war crimes and crimes against humanity [6] with "no end in sight," a group of UN human rights experts finds. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic [7] issued its latest report (PDF [8]) on the civil war in Syria Sept. 3. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro [9], chair of the UN investigative panel, stated to members of the Associated Press that the Islamic State (IS) seems [10] to be "desperate, because they are losing ground." According to the report, IS suffered significant losses to the Kurdish armed group, the People's Protection Units [11] (YPG [12]), and has resorted to using suicide car-bombs and hit-and-run tactics. US intelligence agencies seem to disagree with Pinheiro, as the CIA and other agencies announced [13] in July that their assessments show IS is "fundamentally no weaker than it was when the US-led bombing campaign began a year ago."
From Jurist [14], Sept. 4. Used with permission.
