War crimes were likely committed by members of interim government forces and fighters aligned with former President Bashar al-Assad during an outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria’s coastal areas in March, according to a United Nations report.

Some 1,400 people, mainly civilians , were reported killed during the violence that primarily targeted Alawite communities, and reports of violations have continued, according to the report released on Thursday by the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry.

“The scale and brutality of the violence documented in our report is deeply disturbing,” said Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chair of the commission, in a statement.

Torture, killings and inhumane acts related to the treatment of the dead were documented by the UN team, which based its research on more tha

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