The human rights group Amnesty International claims the government of Syria may have committed crimes against humanity when it cracked down on protesters in a border town in May. The group has urged the International Criminal Court to look into the deaths of nine protesters detained by Syrian forces in the town of Tel Kelakh. Amnesty spokersperson Peter Clarke said the deaths were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population.

Peter Clarke: “We’re calling on the Security Council of the United Nations to bring this situation before the International Criminal Court, because there are clear indications that there may have been crimes against humanity on a large scale. We’ve seen all sorts of atrocities committed. On the first day, a young man was shot apparently by snipers. We’ve seen people fleeing the town who were shot on by military forces.”

Over 1,300 civilians are believed to have been killed in the 14 weeks of protests against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.