Rights group: Syria troops executed civilians

BEIRUT — A leading international human rights group says Syrian forces have summarily executed more than 100 people, most of them civilians.

Monday’s report by Human Rights Watch says this includes several mass executions in the restive provinces of Homs and Idlib. The New-York-based group says it only included cases corroborated by witnesses but has received more reports of similar incidents.

The executions took place over the past four months, with most in March.

Syrian forces are escalating attacks across the country to try to crush a 13-month uprising against President Bashar Assad.

An internationally brokered truce requires Syrian forces to pull out of population centers by Tuesday. But Assad’s government now wants guarantees that rebels will lay down their arms.