The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported on Saturday the most notable human rights violations that took place in September, saying it’s the worst month in terms of citizens infected with the coronavirus, with the Syrian regime harnessing the state’s capabilities to launch more military operations in northwest Syria and to launch arbitrary arrest campaigns.
The 27-page report outlines the most notable violations SNHR documented in September 2020, including the death toll of civilian victims who were killed by the parties to the conflict and the controlling forces, as well as the record of cases of arrests/ detention and enforced disappearances. The report also highlights indiscriminate attacks and attacks on civilian objects.
The report documents the deaths of 102 civilians in September, including 15 children and 10 women (adult female). Among the victims were three medical personnel. We also documented the deaths of 12 individuals who died due to torture, and at least one massacre.
The report further documents at least 162 cases of arbitrary arrests/ detention in September at the hands of the parties to the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria, including two children and six women, with the largest percentage of these carried out by Syrian Regime forces in the provinces of Damascus Suburbs then Daraa.
In addition to these incidents, the report also documents at least five attacks on vital civilian facilities in September, one of which were carried out at the hands of Syrian Regime forces, and four at the hands of other parties. Among these attacks we documented one on a school, another on a market, and one other on a vehicle belonging to the Red Crescent.
As the report reveals, Syrian regime forces in September continued with military operations and artillery and missile bombardment of the areas at the lines of contact with regime forces, as well as adjacent areas, in the southern suburbs of Idlib. September also saw Russian warplanes launching raids on the headquarters and military camps of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham in the northwestern suburbs of Idlib, which resulted in civilian casualties.
The report further reveals that bombings with car bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) continued in several areas of the eastern and northern suburbs of Aleppo, and in Ras al Ein area in the northwestern suburbs of Hasaka, as well as in Tal Abyad in the suburbs of Raqqa, which resulted in the deaths of civilian victims and damage to several vital facilities.
In September 2020, the report records the continuing death of victims among Syrian citizens killed by landmines in various regions in Syria, particularly in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib.
The report monitors an increase in the rate of homicides and theft in the areas controlled by the Syrian regime, in addition to several suicides of individuals of different age groups in most regions of Syria, most of which were due to poor living conditions and extreme poverty.
As for the COVID-19 pandemic, the report adds that the month of September was the worst ever to date in all regions of Syria, where 4,200 cases of infection were officially announced by the Ministry of Health during this month, 35% of which occurred in September alone, along with 200 deaths, 44% of which occurred in September alone as well.
In addition, the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) announced 992 cases of infection and five deaths in northwestern Syria in September, making the total number of infections with COVID-19 1,072 cases, with six of those infected dying, according to EWARN.
Northeastern Syria saw a leap in the number of infections and deaths as a result of COVID-19, with 1,618 cases of infection, of whom 64 died, as announced by the Health Authority in the Self-Management Authority of Northern and Eastern Syria, including 1,062 cases of infection in September, of whom 29 cases died.
As the report warns, there is a fear that the pandemic will spread further throughout Syria with the opening of schools.
The report talks about the continued suffering of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in all camps from the deteriorating humanitarian conditions, with the searing temperatures that the region witnessed in early September causing dozens to suffer heatstroke symptoms.
The report notes that the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement on September 18 its decision to hold the Syrian regime responsible under international law for gross human rights violations and torture in particular, adding that it had informed the regime of this decision by means of a diplomatic note. The report stresses that the Syrian Network for Human Rights supports this step and welcomes further similar steps by other countries in regard to agreements that the Syrian regime has ratified and subsequently violated in a terrible manner, for which it must be held accountable.
The report stresses that the states supporting Syrian Democratic Forces should apply pressure on these forces in order to compel them to cease all of their violations in all the areas and towns under their control, adding that all forms of support, military and all others, should be ceased unless the SDF stops all its violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
The report adds that Syrian Democratic Forces must immediately stop conscripting children, hold the officers involved in such violations accountable, and pledge to return all children who have been arrested for conscription immediately.
The report also calls on the Armed Opposition and the Syrian National Army to ensure the protection of civilians in all areas under their control, and urges them to investigate incidents that have resulted in civilian casualties, as well as calling on them to take care to distinguish between civilians and military targets and to cease any indiscriminate attacks.
The report calls on the Syrian regime and all the parties to the conflict and controlling forces to provide detailed maps of the locations where they planted landmines, especially in civilian areas or near residential communities.
Lastly, the report stresses the need for humanitarian organizations to develop urgent operational plans to secure decent shelter for internally displaced persons, and to exert efforts in landmine clearance operations in parallel with relief operations whenever the opportunity arises.
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