Shelters must be Secured for the IDPs
In a report that was released today, SNHR demanded that shelters must be secured for no less than 370,000 IDPs from Deir Ez-Zour and Raqqa governorates in the wake of the Syrian-Russian alliance attacks.
The report notes that Russian forces have placed engaging in battles and targeting only the terrorist group of ISIS as their highest priority, regardless of regardless of the exploding dynamics that will undoubtedly result from any battle – most notably displacement and the hundreds of thousands of residents who fled in fear of bombardment, or the direct killings carried out by Syrian regime land forces and the Shiite pro-regime militias.
The report monitors some of the fallouts that resulted from the Syrian-Russian alliance’s battles in suburbs of Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zour, as the report hold the member states of the United Nations, most significantly the Syrian and Russian regimes, fully responsible for the resultant situation for tens of thousands of civilians and the incidents of killing that resulted from the indiscriminate and disproportionate bombardment.
The report notes that since the Russian military intervention started in September 2015, no significant military escalation was recorded towards Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zour governorates, even though both governorates are major ISIS strongholds, as attacks were mostly concentrated in areas under the control of armed opposition factions Even the limited number of attacks that Russian forces carried out in ISIS-held areas have targeted, in most of them, civilian areas, and resulted in tens of massacres.
According to the report, following the four de-escalation zones agreement’s commencement and the other local agreements that were struck in Eastern Ghouta and South Syria, the Syrian-Russian alliance have instructed its forces to carry out heavy airstrikes in both eastern suburbs of Raqqa and eastern and western suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour, as these forces managed to end the siege on al Joura and al Qosour neighborhoods, in western Deir Ez-Zour city, that had been under a siege imposed by ISIS since March 2015. Subsequently, these forces tried to move to the east bank of Euphrates River and reach the oil and gas fields.
The report sheds light on the the violations that have been carried out by the Syrian-Russian alliance since the start of its offensive in eastern and western suburbs of Raqqa, located on the right bank of Euphrates River, and eastern suburbs of Raqqa, which located on the right bank of Euphrates River as well.
The report documents that Syrian-Russian alliance forces have, as of this writing, killed 48 civilians, including 19 children and eight women in eastern suburbs of Raqqa governorate since mid-July 2017, in addition to no less than five massacres and 11 attacks on vital civilian facilities by the Syrian-Russian alliance forces.
Also, the report documents that Syrian-Russian alliance forces have, as of this writing, killed 362 civilians, including 74 children and 64 women in eastern and western suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour governorate since mid-August 2017, in addition to no less than 36 massacres and 27 attacks on vital civilian facilities by the Syrian-Russian alliance forces. In addition, the report records that Syrian regime forces arrested 217 individuals at least, including 19 children and 22 women, in the same period of time.
The report also highlights that no less 370,000 people have been displaced, including 120,000 from eastern suburbs of Raqqa, whereas the remaining 250,000 were from eastern and western suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour. Most of those people are living under extremely poor conditions.
The report stresses that Syrian-Russian alliance forces have perpetrated serious violations of the humanitarian international law through indiscriminate bombardments that resulted in the killing of civilians, which constitutes war crimes.
Adding to the crime of extrajudicial killing, the crime of forced-displacement that put nearly 370,000 out of their homes. Most of those people suffer from extremely poor living conditions. Additionally, Syrian regime forces haven’t secured shelters or alternative places of residence for IDPs, nor they facilitated the displacement movement or secured safe corridors.
The report calls on the Syrian-Russian alliance forces have to immediately stop carrying out indiscriminate attacks, and use ISIS as a pretext to bomb residential neighborhoods and vital civilian facilities.
The report also calls on the Syrian Democratic Forces to improve the living conditions in the camps they are overseeing. Also, SDF should allow IDPs to move freely, and secure food and medical aids. Also, the report urges the SDF-supporting states to apply pressure on the group in order to cease all violations of human rights.
Lastly, the report stresses that international relief organization have to find ways to find ways to deliver water, food, and shelter to thousands of displaced people on the banks of Euphrates River and desert areas.