Trying to think dispassionately about these things. Whenever I think of less developed "democracies" and autocracies I think of the stages of failure, anarchy, injustice and civil war etc which - say - The United Kingdom and other (we term) First World countries have passed through - even newer nations like Italy (less than 150 years old), Germany and France (220 years since Revolution) and USSR/Russia (100 years of "democracy") and then one can appreciate the stages which may or may not have been travelled in some countries to understand what difficulties are faced on the road to consensus and rule of law..
So, in a lawless environment - particularly in one where the concept of democracy (as we in Western Europe understand it) is so limited as to barely be within the range of our experience - the will of those who are responsible for these atrocities must be similar to the kind of atrocities (albeit with different weaponry and different lethal consequences) that were brought about by the likes of Genghis Khan and The Crusaders - and, throwing in a significant dose of religious fervour (or, should one say, religious grounds for hatred) and you can't be surprised by anything anymore.
