"When law student Ibrahim Olabi concluded his presentation to a
group of Syrian rebels, the fighters had some difficult questions concerning
international humanitarian law.
Under the theory of collateral damage, they asked, was it
permissible to starve civilians whom they had under siege along with government
loyalist fighters in two Shiite Muslim villages north of Aleppo?
Olabi had to consult with human rights groups and law professors
before eventually explaining that the law was conditional and unclear: Rebels
are allowed to lay siege to military targets with some permissible collateral
damage. At the same time, he said, civilians must be allowed to leave.
"There are a lot of gray areas," said Olabi, who
recently formed the Syrian Legal Development Program to help provide legal
training to rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad." (thanks Ahmad)
