UN leader Ban Ki-moon said in the report the 26-month-old war in Syria is taking an "unacceptable and unbearable" toll on children with thousands among the death toll.
The office of UN special representative on children in conflict, Leila Zerrougui said it had received "verified reports that Syrian children are killed or injured in indiscriminate bombings, shot by snipers, used as human shields or victims of terror tactics."
Zerrougui presented the report which said boys as young as 10 are used by armed groups to work as combatants and porters.
It said there were a growing number of reports of the so-called ‘Free Syrian Army’, the main opposition armed group, recruiting children, mostly between 15 and 17.
Thousands of children "have seen family members killed or injured," said the report.
"Everyone involved in the conflict needs to take urgent measures to protect children," Zerrougui said.
"Allowing access for lifesaving humanitarian assistance is essential. We cannot allow innocent children to continue to die because they can't see a doctor, or because they can't fulfill their basic needs."
Earlier in the day, United Nations' human rights office said that Syria's spiraling violence has resulted in the confirmed killings of nearly 93,000 people, but the real number is likely to be far higher.
Syria was hit by a violent unrest since mid-March 2011, where the Syrian government accuses foreign actors of orchestrating the conflict, by supporting the militant opposition groups with arms and money.
www.almanar.com.lb
13/6/13
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****Rupert Colville spokesman for Pillay, told Al Jazeera that it had under-reported the number of deaths because of constraints on estimations owing to the conflict.
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UN says death toll includes 6,561 children and figure could be higher with more than 5,000 reported killed each month.......
ReplyDeleteAlmost 93,000 people were killed in Syria's conflict by the end of April this year, but the true number could be "potentially much higher", the UN has said.
The exact figure released on Thursday - 92,901 people - is much higher than the UN's last death toll back in January of 59,000 people.
"The constant flow of killings continues at shockingly high levels," said Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights. "This is most likely a minimum casualty figure. The true number of those killed is potentially much higher."
An average of more than 5,000 people have been killed every month since last July, while rural Damascus and Aleppo have recorded the highest tolls since November, the report said in its latest study compiling documented deaths.
Among the victims were at least 6,561 children, including 1,729 children younger than 10.
Rupert Colville spokesman for Pillay, told Al Jazeera that it had under-reported the number of deaths because of constraints on estimations owing to the conflict.
'Children tortured'
"We're reliant, really, on some very brave activists who since the beginning of this conflict have done their best to keep track of how many people have been killed," Colville said.
The report said UN teams on the ground and activists had found evidence of children being tortured during the conflict.
"We've all seen videos and photos of children who have been tortured to death, children who have been summarily executed," Colville said.
"We've seen entire families that have been slaughtered, including babies even, and then you've got children who have been killed by indiscriminate shellfire, missiles, aerial bombardment and a general, no-holds-barred conflict."
Fighting continued across Syria on Thursday. A mortar round struck an area near the runway at Damascus International Airport, briefly disrupting flights, officials said.
It was the first known attack to hit inside the airport, south of the capital, and came weeks after the government announced it had secured the airport road that had been targeted by rebels.........http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/20136131616129401.html
13/6/13
Syrian government blames Saudi Arabia for inciting the civil war....
ReplyDeleteSyria's Minister of Information Umran Al Zoubi charged Saudi Arabia for inciting the civil war in Syria by saying "The main cause of violence in Syria is the aid of weapons and money of Saudi Arabia."
Pointing out that Saudi Arabia had no place in the political solution of the crisis in Syria, Zoubi said "The main cause of violence in Syria is Saudi Arabia's aid of weapons and money to the terrorists. The terrorists are dependent on Saudi Arabia."
Zoubi, criticizing Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal's defining Syria as an occupied territory, said "If he definesSyria as occupied territory while Palestine as free, I do not condemn him because this comment is fiction."
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/197695--syrian-government-blames-saudi-arabia-for-inciting-the-civil-war
26/6/13
Syrie : Ban Ki-moon demande un accès humanitaire à Homs....
ReplyDeleteLe secrétaire général de l'ONU, Ban Ki-moon, appelle mardi 2 juillet les belligérants en Syrie à laisser 2 500 civils bloqués à Homs quitter la ville et recevoir des secours.
M. Ban "suit avec une grande inquiétude l'escalade du conflit en Syrie, en particulier la situation à Homs", qui est la cible depuis samedi d'une nouvelle offensive du régime syrien......http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2013/07/02/syrie-ban-ki-moon-demande-un-acces-humanitaire-a-homs_3440628_3218.html#xtor=RSS-3208
2/7/13
Bürgerkrieg: Tausende Zivilisten in Homs eingeschlossen....
ReplyDelete2.500 syrische Zivilisten sind zwischen die Fronten der Schlacht um Aleppo geraten. Assads Soldaten hatten zuvor eine Offensive gegen die Rebellenhochburg gestartet.
In der von Rebellen und syrischen Regierungstruppen heftig umkämpften Stadt Homs sind nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen rund 2.500 Zivilisten eingeschlossen. UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki Moon rief die Konfliktparteien auf, alles zu tun, um Opfer unter der Zivilbevölkerung zu vermeiden. Er sei auch sehr besorgt über Drohungen, dass in zwei schiitischen Dörfern in der nördlichen Provinz Aleppo gekämpft werden könnte, hieß es in einer Erklärung.
Die Soldaten von Präsident Baschar al-Assad hatten vor wenigen Tagen eine Offensive gegen die Rebellenhochburg Homs gestartet, die drittgrößte Stadt im Land......http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2013-07/homs-zivilisten-rebellen
2/7/13
Kampf an drei Fronten – Rebellen sitzen in der Falle....
ReplyDeleteIn Homs steht die Freie Syrische Armee mit dem Rücken zur Wand. Wo einst der Protest gegen Assad begann, sind jetzt seine Truppen auf dem Vormarsch. Auch junge Deutsche kämpfen gegen sie....
Sie tragen Westen mit Sprengstoff und drohen, sich in die Luft zu sprengen. "Wo sind die Waffen, die uns aus dem Ausland versprochen wurden?", fragt einer der Rebellen. "Nichts ist gekommen, und uns bleiben nur diese Explosivgürtel, um das Regime zu bekämpfen." Im Hintergrund sind Schüsse und Granateneinschläge zu hören. Dieses Internetvideo, das in der Khalid-Ibn-al-Walid-Moschee von Homs aufgenommen wurde, zeigt deutlich: Die Lage der Freien Syrischen Armee (FSA) ist verzweifelt.
Die Moschee aus dem 13. Jahrhundert, bekannt für ihre neun Kuppeln, liegt im Stadtteil al-Khaldieh, auf den sich die Angriffe der Regierungstruppen konzentrieren. Die Kämpfer der FSA stehen mit dem Rücken zur Wand, und der Verlust ihrer letzten Bastionen in der "Hauptstadt der Revolution" scheint nur eine Frage der Zeit. In Homs gab es im April 2011 die ersten großen Proteste. Zeitweilig war beinahe die gesamte Stadt in der Hand der Rebellen. Heute sind es noch etwa 20 Prozent.....http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article117873808/Kampf-an-drei-Fronten-Rebellen-sitzen-in-der-Falle.html
9/7/13
UN decries crimes against children in Syria....A top UN official says perpetrators risk prosecution as war criminals for atrocities against minors....
ReplyDeleteA top UN envoy has warned officials and anti-government fighters in Syria risk prosecution as war criminals for atrocities against the children.
Leila Zerrougui, special representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said on Monday she was “overwhelmed” by the suffering of children during a recent visit to Syria.
“Officials and rebel commanders alike risk prosecution as war criminals for atrocities against minors,” she said, adding, “ I met parents whose children were killed in bombings, children who saw siblings die in front of them and teenagers who had fought with armed opposition groups.”
The UN official visited both Syria and neighbouring countries that are hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the civil war.
Zerrougui said one of her main goals during her visit was to make clear to both sides that the UN is keeping track of atrocities and that perpetrators would not escape persecution.
"One day Syria will come to peace, and those committing the atrocities will have to face, I hope, justice," she said.
List of shame
Around 7,000 children under the age of 15 have been killed during Syria's more than two-year-old conflict.
Half of the 1.7 million Syrian refugees are children, and within the country over 3 million children are in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
A recent UN report placed the main rebel umbrella group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), on its “list of shame” for recruiting child soldiers even as FSA leadership has acknowledged the problem and sent Zerrougui a letter asking for guidance on how to get off the list.
Zerrougui said most commanders on the ground denied recruiting children and insisted everyone in their ranks was at least 18.
Syrian government forces were added to the list for detaining minors and often torturing and sexually assaulting them even as the government of President Bashar Assad has passed a law prohibiting child soldier recruitment.
“Syrian authorities continue detaining children on security charges or because their families are suspects of sympathizing with the opposition,” she said.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/2013722221234376164.html
23/7/13
Le conflit en Syrie a fait 100 000 morts, selon l'ONU...
ReplyDeleteAlors que des combats d'une extrême violence se déroulent jeudi 25 juillet à Homs, une ONG syrienne avance que plus de 2 000 personnes sont mortes depuis le début du ramadan, le 10 juillet. Pour la première fois, l'ONU avance un bilan dépassant les 100 000 morts.
Le bilan a dépassé les 100 000 morts selon l'ONU
Plus de 100 000 personnes sont mortes depuis le début du conflit en Syrie, a affirmé le secrétaire général des Nations unies, Ban Ki-moon, qui a appelé à poursuivre les efforts pour organiser rapidement une nouvelle conférence de paix, de plus en plus improbable. M. Ban et le secrétaire d'Etat américain John Kerry, qui se rencontraient à l'ONU à New York, ont réaffirmé devant les journalistes avant leur réunion qu'il ne pouvait y avoir de solution militaire à ce conflit qui déchire la Syrie depuis vingt-huit mois.
L'ONU s'était toujours montrée prudente dans son décompte. Le mois dernier, elle donnait un bilan de 93 000 morts. Mais M. Ban a estimé que "plus de 100 000 personnes avaient été tuées, et des millions avaient été déplacées ou avaient dû se réfugier dans les pays frontaliers".
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2013/07/25/syrie-plus-de-100-000-morts-depuis-le-debut-du-conflit-selon-l-onu_3453848_3218.html#ens_id=1481132&xtor=RSS-3208
25/7/13
Syrian rebel leader returns to reconcile Islamist fighters...
ReplyDeleteISTANBUL - The head of the opposition Syrian Supreme Military Council cut short a visit to France on Thursday and said he would head to Syria for talks with rebel brigades that broke with the Western-backed coalition.
General Salim Idris, who commands the coalition's military wing known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), said he would travel to Syria on Friday to meet fighters from the 13 groups which rejected on Tuesday the authority of the Turkey-based coalition.
The rebel groups, including at least three considered to be under the FSA umbrella, called on Tuesday for the rebel forces to be reorganized under an Islamic framework and to be run only by groups fighting inside Syria.
"We should deal wisely with their statement. I returned from France so as to follow up with the field commanders and work toward unifying all the ranks," Idriss told Reuters by telephone after arriving in Istanbul.
FSA spokesman Louay Meqdad said Idriss hoped to solve the grievances of the dissident rebels, who have long been wary of accepting leadership by figures who have spent much of Syria's two-and-a-half-year civil war outside the country.
"He will meet the brigades that rejected the coalition who are losing hope," Meqdad said. "The coalition maybe were not connected to the ground but now they will communicate and try to resolve this."
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Syrian-rebel-leader-returns-to-reconcile-Islamist-fighters-327180
26/9/13
Syrian forces drive out rebels from a strategically important town...
ReplyDeleteGovernment forces in Syria gained back control over the town of Hanaser by driving out the rebels from this strategically important region.
Hanaser is strategically important as it connects the central regions of the country with Aleppo. Opposition fighters had captured Hanaser in late August and blocked the main highway which cut off the supply artery for government forces to receive reinforcement, ammunition and provisions in Aleppo.
According to experts, liberation of the town will now help government forces to resume supplies to Aleppo and gain more control over the region.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_10_03/Syrian-forces-drive-out-rebels-from-a-strategically-important-town-3103/
3/10/13
Starved Syria civilians flee besieged Damascus suburb...
ReplyDeleteThousands of Syrian civilians have finally been allowed to leave the besieged Damascus suburb of Moadamiya.
The BBC's Lyse Doucet, who was at the scene, describes a tide of desperate people leaving the area, which has been closed off since March.
Supplies in Moadamiya had been running desperately short, and residents had pleaded to be saved from starvation.
The exodus of civilians has been made possible by an apparent relaxation of a blockade by government forces.
The Syrian army had previously said that rebel-held areas of Damascus such as Moadamiya could surrender or starve.
At least three of Damascus's suburbs - Yarmouk, Eastern Ghouta and Moadamiya - have been besieged by government forces for several months.....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24730536
29/10/13