No less than 100 Individuals Killed as a Result of these Breaches Solely, Including 24 Children and One Fetus
SNHR has published its seventh report monitoring the breaches of Ankara Ceasefire Agreement in Syria. The report documents the breaches that were recorded in the first month of the Agreement. The report says that 100 individuals have been killed – 95 civilians, including 24 children, one fetus, and 14 women, 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 the most notable breaches committed by the parties that are bound by the truce agreement (Syrian regime 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 January 2 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 their ally the Iranian regime.
The report monitors 366 breaches – 333 by combat operations, and 33 arrest operations. Our of the 366 breaches, 315 were committed by Syrian regime forces, where Hama governorate saw most of the breaches with 108 breaches recorded since the agreement went into effect, followed by Aleppo with 51 breaches, Damascus suburbs with 46 breaches, Idlib with 41 breaches, Homs with 37 breaches, Daraa with 22 breaches, Damascus with six breaches, Al Hasaka with three breaches, and one breach in Deir Ez-Zour. Furthermore, the report records 43 breaches by Russian forces including 15 in Aleppo, whereas three breaches were committed in Hama, and 25 in Idlib.
Also, the report notes that armed opposition factions committed eight breaches in Aleppo and Hama.
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 aims 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 to 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.