A report by Amnesty International says that indiscriminate air attacks and artillery strikes by the Syrian army has killed, maimed घायल and terrorised civilians in parts of the Idlib and North Hama regions. The report says the plight of the civilians in this region of Syria is under-reported because the world attention is largely focused on the fighting in Alleppo and Damascus. Report further says unguided bombs dropped from the air and imprecise artillery shells and mortars are now being used daily against residential areas, significantly increasing the number of civilian casualties.

Amnesty International says there was an alarming surge in the number of executions carried out in a small number of countries in 2011. The group said the steepest rise of 50 per cent was in four countries in West Asia - Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Amnesty said China continues to execute thousands of prisoners each year although the exact figures are a state secret.