The Syrian Network documents the killing of 177 civilians in Syria during the month of March 2021
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said in a report: “Extrajudicial killings claimed 177 civilians in Syria in March 2021, including 28 children, 35 women, 1 medical personnel, and 9 victims of torture,” referring to the largest Russian military escalation in a year.
The report monitors the toll of civilian victims whose deaths were documented at the hands of the parties to the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria in March, and highlights in particular the victims of children and women, and the victims who died as a result of torture.
According to the report, the month of March witnessed a continuation in the occurrence of civilian casualties due to mines in separate governorates and regions in Syria, as the report recorded the deaths of 51 civilians, including 6 children and 20 women. In several areas with different controlling powers, and this, according to the report, is an indication that none of the controlling forces has made any significant efforts in the process of removing mines, or trying to uncover their locations, fencing them, and warn the local population of them.
The report indicated that camp conditions worsen in winter, due to rain and flooding of tents, in addition to the outbreak of fires caused by the heating devices used in the camps, and added that in March, Al-Hol camp witnessed a continuation of killings by unknown gunmen, as March witnessed the killing of 26 civilians Among them, 8 children and 8 women are in the camp at the hands of unknown gunmen, who are believed to be affiliated with ISIS cells.
According to the report, March witnessed the largest Russian military escalation in nearly a year. On March 21, the Assad regime and Russian forces launched air and ground attacks targeting civilian areas outside the control of the Assad regime in northwestern Syria. These areas contain vital installations and facilities. The targeted facilities are being bombed for the first time, and the attacks have caused civilian casualties, according to the report.
The report said: “The victims’ documentation team in the network documented in March the killing of 177 civilians, including 28 children and 35 women, of whom 28 were civilians, including 3 children, and 3 women were killed by the Assad regime forces, while Russian forces killed 6 civilians, and the Syrian Democratic Forces 4 “One civilian, including 1 child and 1 woman, and ISIS killed 2 civilians, while the armed opposition / the National Army killed 1 civilian (a woman). The report also records the killing of 136 civilians, including 24 children and 30 women.”
According to the report, the work team of the Syrian Network for Human Rights documented in March the killing of 9 people due to torture, all of them at the hands of the Assad regime, and the report also recorded the killing of 1 medical personnel by bullets of unknown origin, and 1 of the civil defense personnel at the hands of Russian forces.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented four massacres during the month of March, one of them at the hands of the Assad regime forces, and three at the hands of other parties, the death toll of 41 civilians, including 7 children, and 21 women (an adult female).
The report considered the Assad regime to be the main responsible for the deaths of Syrian citizens due to the Covid-19 pandemic, indicating that it and its Russian ally are mainly accused of bombing and destroying most medical centers in Syria, killing hundreds of medical personnel and forcibly hiding dozens of them, indicating that approximately 3,329 medical personnel are not They are still under arrest or enforced disappearance by the Syrian regime, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights database.
The report called on the Security Council to take additional measures after the issuance of Resolution 2254, and stressed the need to refer the Syrian file to the International Criminal Court and hold accountable all those involved, including the Russian regime, after it was proven that it was involved in committing war crimes.
It also called on all relevant United Nations agencies to make more efforts in terms of food and medical humanitarian aid in the areas where the fighting stopped, and in the camps for internally displaced persons, and to follow up on the countries that have pledged the necessary donations.
The report called for the application of the principle of the responsibility to protect (R2P), especially after all the agreements, statements of the cessation of hostilities and the Astana agreements had been exhausted, stressing the need to resort to Chapter VII and the application of the principle of the responsibility to protect, approved by the United Nations General Assembly.
The report stresses the need for the Assad regime to stop its indiscriminate bombing operations, targeting residential areas, hospitals, schools, and markets, and stop the torture operations that have caused the death of thousands of Syrian citizens in detention centers, and to comply with UN Security Council resolutions and customary humanitarian law.
