Hezbollah fighter faces trial in Germany for alleged war crimes in Syria

A Syrian man went on trial in Germany Tuesday accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity while fighting for Hezbollah on the side of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The defendant, identified by the court in Stuttgart only as 32-year-old Ammar A., faces charges including killings and torture.

He was allegedly a leader of a Shiite Muslim militia, which joined with Lebanon-based Hezbollah fighting on the side of the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war.

The defendant is accused of participating in attacks on Sunni Muslims in the regime-controlled southern town of Busra al-Sham in 2012.

Prosecutors say Ammar A. was part of an attack on a civilian residence where one person was shot dead and their home looted and burnt.

Ammar A. is also accused of taking prisoner and abusing Sunni residents in Busra al-Sham on two occasions between 2013-2014.

Prosecutors allege that in one instance, the victims were handed over to Syrian military intelligence, who tortured the captives.

The accused has been in custody since December and trial dates have been set until late February.

The war between Assad's regime and armed opposition groups erupted after the government repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.

The conflict has killed more than half a million people, displaced millions more and ravaged Syria's economy and infrastructure.

Germany -- home to large numbers of Syrian, Iraqi and other asylum seekers -- has previously tried alleged war criminals under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows for trials regardless of where the offences were committed.

Trials into Syrian regime abuses have also been held elsewhere in Europe, including France and Sweden.