A total of 3,391 civilians have been killed across Syria since the “cessation of hostilities” agreement was declared 90 days ago, on February 24. The victims included 426 children and 304 women. Over a hundred detainees were also killed under torture in Assad’s prisons.
According to figures compiled by the Syrian Coalition’s Media Office and released earlier today, 3,240 people have been killed in attacks by regime forces, the Hezbollah militias and other Iranian-backed militias. Over 150 civilians were killed in aerial bombardment by Russian forces on rebel-held areas.
The Media Office’s figures show that during the three-month period since the “cessation of hostilities” agreement took effect on February 27, regime forces committed more than 57 massacres claiming the lives of hundreds of civilians, including many children and women. The majority of the victims were killed in direct attacks on popular markets, mosques, and civilian homes.
The Media Office also said that it had recorded no fewer than 3,143 breaches of the truce by regime forces and their allied foreign militias in the form of bombardment by air forces, artillery and rockets shelling, and ground attacks. The Office also said that Russian forces were responsible for nearly 261 violations of the truce through airstrikes on rebel-held areas covered by the truce.
On May 14, the UN Security Council expressed its outrage at attacks in Syria targeting civilians and medical facilities, stressing that these attacks may amount to war crimes.
Members of the Security Council reiterated their call on all parties to “immediately implement in full the provisions of Security Council resolutions relating to Syria, including resolutions 2139 (2013), 2165 (2014) 2191 (2014) and 2258 (2015), as well as resolution 2286 (2016) relating to health care in armed conflict.”
The Syrian Coalition earlier said that it holds the Assad regime and its allies “responsible for the collapse of the agreement and all the consequences thereof as they have violated the agreement without any serious international position.”
“The international community has failed in shouldering its responsibilities to provide appropriate mechanisms to implement international resolutions. As a result, the cessation hostilities agreement was used as a cover for continued crimes, as it has become clear for everyone,” the Coalition added. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
