The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that as many as 112 medical personnel and civil defense workers were killed in Syria in 2017, 51 of whom were killed in attacks by the Assad regime and 23 others in Russian airstrikes.
In a report released on Sunday, the Network said that eight medical personnel and first responders were killed in airstrikes by the international anti-ISIS coalition. It noted that the victims also included three medical workers who were killed in attacks by militias the Democratic Union Party (PYD), while five others were killed by the ISIS extremist group. The report indicated that 19 medical personnel were killed in attacks the rights group said were untraceable.
The monitoring group pointed out that the main parties to the conflict were responsible for more than 243 attacks on medical facilities, centers of civil defense, and centers of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) in 2017. The Assad regime was responsible for 117 of those attacks, while Russian forces were responsible for 92 others.
The Network noted that the international anti-ISIS coalition forces carried out seven attacks on medical facilities across Syria in 2017, while militant groups launched three attacks on medical facilities, an ambulance vehicle and a SARC center.
The report stressed that the UN Security Council has a responsibility to maintain peace and security as well as to protect civilians and Syrians’ heritage and arts from destruction, looting and vandalism. The Network urged international organizations to send volunteers to work in safe areas to aid the victims.
The Network called on Russia to exert pressure on the Assad regime to stop violations of the ‘de-escalation zones’ agreement to bring about a breakthrough in the issue of detainees and missing persons in Syria by revealing the fate of around 76,000 forcibly disappeared persons.
Moreover, the Network called for the expansion of international sanctions to include the Russian and Iranian regimes who are directly involved in committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
