Syria/Russia: Airstrikes, Siege Killing Civilians | WPN World People News

Syrian government and Russian forces have escalated their airstrikes on Eastern Ghouta, a suburb approximately 15 kilometers from the center of Syria’s capital Damascus, killing dozens of civilians in apparently unlawful attacks, Human Rights Watch said on Dec 22. Syrian forces have tightened their siege of the enclave, held by anti-government armed groups, severely restricting humanitarian aid in violation of the laws of war and preventing civilians from leaving the area.

The UN Security Council, which on December 19, 2017, renewed its mandate for cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid to millions of desperate Syrian civilians, should demand that the Syrian government immediately end unlawful restrictions on aid to Eastern Ghouta or face targeted sanctions against those responsible.

“The world is silently looking on as Russia and Syria tighten the noose around the suffering population of Eastern Ghouta with unlawful strikes, widely-banned weapons, and a devastating siege,” said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The Security Council should demand that Syria immediately end its tactics that are starving the population, preventing civilians from leaving, and denying humanitarian aid.”

Human Rights Watch in November and December spoke remotely with 12 residents, humanitarian workers, and doctors in Eastern Ghouta concerning alliance airstrikes and restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Syrian government forces have besieged Eastern Ghouta, which has a population of about 400,000, since 2013. In October 2017, the government restricted the use of the al-Wafideen crossing, the only entry point for commercial merchandise, depleting scarce food and medical supplies and causing prices to skyrocket.

From November 14 to November 30, the Russian-Syrian joint military operation conducted more than 400 airstrikes on Eastern Ghouta, according to the Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer group that works in anti-government areas, and the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. The Russian-Syrian alliance struck more than half the towns in the besieged enclave at least once during this period, according to local media monitors. Homes, a makeshift school, and a public market were among the civilian structures hit.

Human Rights Watch documented three aerial attacks in Eastern Ghouta since November 14 that were apparently indiscriminate, in violation of the laws of war. One incident involved the use of cluster munitions, widely banned weapons that are inherently indiscriminate. These three attacks caused the death of at least 23 civilians and wounded many others.

The threat to civilians from the intensified aerial campaign has been exacerbated by lack of access to medical care and essential foodstuffs, Human Rights Watch said. The air and ground attacks and siege have together resulted in the deaths of at least 190 civilians, including 51 children, between November 14 and 30, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

Anas al-Ta’an, a local resident, told Human Rights Watch: “We don’t know whether to hide in the basement from the strikes, or risk it to stand in line for two hours in the hopes of getting bread for our children. This is the choice we make, and the situation is beyond tragic.”

The laws of war do not prohibit sieges so long as the harm to the civilian population does not exceed the expected military gain, starvation is not used as a method of warfare, and humanitarian aid delivery is not hindered.

Syrian forces have severely restricted the entry of essential food and medicines and the exit of civilians from Eastern Ghouta in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said. Entry of humanitarian aid through UN convoys has been extremely limited, with the Syrian government only granting permission to the UN to enter a handful of times over the past year. While a besieging force may prevent the entry of weapons and food and other supplies destined for opposing armies, essential goods for civilians must be allowed.

A UN official told Human Rights Watch, “the government systematically rejects life-saving medicines and medical equipment.” The UN estimates that aid reached only a quarter of the besieged population in Eastern Ghouta in 2017.

The government has also unnecessarily hindered the evacuation of people with urgent medical needs, Human Rights Watch said. The UN said that close to 500 people require immediate medical evacuation and that at least 10 people have died since June while awaiting Syrian government permission to leave Eastern Ghouta for treatment elsewhere. UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, reported in December that 137 children, ages 7 months to 17 years, needed immediate medical evacuation.

The escalating airstrikes and tightening of the siege in November meant hospitals were over capacity, lacking necessary medical supplies, and doctors were overwhelmed. “There was a child, Osama Al-Tukhi, he was 5 years old and he died of a brain infection,” a representative of a medical facility in Eastern Ghouta told Human Rights Watch “We could have saved him. He only needed an antiviral shot that is easily attainable in any Damascus pharmacy, but not here.”

Infighting among anti-government armed factions and restrictions on freedom of movement within the enclave have contributed to worsening humanitarian conditions, Human Rights Watch said. Anti-government armed groups should allow unimpeded humanitarian access and movement of civilians away from areas of hostilities, Human Rights Watch said.

In December, local media reported that negotiations were ongoing between the Russian and Syrian governments and non-state armed groups operating in Eastern Ghouta for the evacuation of the armed group Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham, previously Jabhat al-Nusra, from the besieged enclave. Any agreement should be consistent with laws-of-war protections for both civilians who evacuate and those who remain behind, and should ensure delivery of humanitarian aid to populations in need, Human Rights Watch said.

“Russia will have a difficult time bringing Syrians together in Sochi if it is indiscriminately bombing civilians while allowing its ally, the Syrian government, to continue its increasingly deadly siege of Eastern Ghouta,” Fakih said. “At the very least, it should pressure the Syrian government to allow humanitarian aid and evacuate urgent medical cases.”

Source:Human Rights Watch