38 Individuals at least Killed in Two Weeks of the Ceasefire Agreement including 11 Children and a Fetus
SNHR has published its sixth report monitoring the breaches of Ankara Ceasefire Agreement in Syria. The report documents the breaches that were recorded in the first two weeks since the Agreement went into effect. The report says that 38 individuals have been killed – 33 civilians, including six women, 11 children, and one fetus, and five armed opposition members since 30 December 2016. Most of the victims were killed by Syrian regime forces.
The report draws upon the monitoring and documentation processes in addition to speaking to survivors, victims’ families, or with eyewitnesses to some of the incidents.
The report sheds light on every breach committed by the parties that are bound by the truce agreement (Government forces, Russian forces, and armed opposition factions) in areas under the control of armed opposition factions and areas under a joint control (armed opposition factions and Fateh Al Sham Front). The report doesn’t include any combat operations in ISIS-held areas.
The report says that on Monday 2 January 2017, armed opposition factions that agreed to the ceasefire agreement released a statement in which they announced that they will suspend any talks regarding the ceasefire agreement in response to the breaches that were committed by the Syrian regime forces and its ally the Iranian regime.
The report monitors 318 breaches including 298 breaches through combat operations in addition to 20 through arrest operations. 277 breaches, out of the 298, were committed by Syrian regime forces. Most of the breaches took place in Hama governorate where 105 breaches have been documented in Hama since the commencement of the Agreement, followed by Aleppo and Idlib with 46 and 40 breaches respectively. Also, the report records 32 breaches in Damascus suburbs, 30 in Homs, 19 in Daraa, three in Damascus, one in Al Hasaka, and one in Deir Ez-Zour. The report records 34 breaches at the hands of Russian forces including 13 in Aleppo, while three breaches by Russian forces were recorded in Hama, and 18 in Idlib.
Furthermore, the report says that seven breaches were committed by armed opposition factions in Aleppo and Hama governorates.
The report stresses that most of the breaches documented up until now were committed by the Syrian regime and its ally on the ground the Iranian regime, which the report considers to be the most affected by any political agreement that aim towards a comprehensive settlement. Furthermore, the report calls on the Russian regime, being a primary sponsor of the agreement, to apply pressure on the Syrian-Iranian regime in order to compel it seriously commit to the agreement’s provisions. Otherwise, the ceasefire will ultimately fail.
Also, the report emphasizes that Russian forces have to adhere to the agreement, and cease bombing civilians because any other breaches by the Russian forces, who should supposedly oversee the implementation of the agreement, will demolish the credibility of any future Russian sponsorship.
Lastly, the report calls on the Turkish government, seeing that it is the other party sponsoring the Agreement, to follow-up with the breaches committed by armed opposition factions, and insure that they won’t reoccur in order to preserve the success of the truce.