Regime forces continued to pound the town of Daraya in Rural Damascus with barrel bombs. Regime’s helicopters on Wednesday dropped dozens of barrel bombs on the rebel-held parts of the town combined with a new ground attack on the southern side of the town.
Meanwhile, civilians trapped inside are still waiting for aid convoys to enter the town as part of the International Syrian Support Group’s (ISSG) declaration for assistance by June 1 during its latest meeting in Vienna.
Vice-president of the Syrian Coalition Muwaffaq Nyrabiya said that the Assad regime has significantly stepped up attacks on liberated areas since the conclusion of the last round of negotiations in Geneva “in blatant defiance of the United Nations resolutions.”
Nyrabiya blamed the regime’s escalation of attacks on Russia’s and Iran’s support for the Assad regime as well as on the “dubious silence” of the international community over these attacks. He warned that this dangerous escalation threatens to undermine the entire political process.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that helicopters of the Assad regime have dropped no fewer than 974 barrel bombs on rebel-held areas across Syria during May.
A report released by the network on Wednesday said that these attacks constitute a violation of the February 27 cessation of hostilities agreement. The provinces of Aleppo, Rural Damascus and Dara’a bore the brunt of the regime’s barrel bomb attacks that claimed the lives of 57 civilians, including 18 children and 10 women, according to the report.
SNHR stressed that every single attack using barrel bombs is tantamount to a war crime as these are largely indiscriminate weapons with devastating destructive ability.
UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told a regular UN briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the regime’s blockage of aid is a political issue, adding that they need the Assad’s regime’s approval to deliver aid to Daraya, under siege since 2012.
On May 12, an aid convoy headed to Daraya was refused entry by regime forces despite getting prior approval. Daraya got its first UN aid convoy since 2012 on June 1, but the shipment did not include any food. Head of the media office of the Daraya local council Karam Alshami said that the aid trucks that entered the town only contained “half a load or less, not to mention that the urgent need was for food.”
The United Nations has warned that malnourished children in the Damascus suburb will die without outside help. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
