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Syria + 3 more

Implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014) and 2165 (2014) (S/2014/756) [EN/AR]

Attachments

I. Introduction

1 . This eighth report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 17 of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014) and paragraph 10 of Security Council resolution 2165 (2014), in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to report, every 30 days, on the implementation of the resolutions by all parties to the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic.

2 . The report covers the period from 18 September to 17 October 2014. The information contained in the reports and the attached annex is based on the data available to the United Nations actors on the ground and reports from open sources and sources of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic.

II. Major developments

A. Political/military

3 . Conflict and high levels of violence continued throughout the Syrian Arab Republic during the reporting period, including in the governorates of Aleppo, Damascus, Darʽa, Deir ez-Zor, Hama, Hasakeh, Homs, Idlib, Quneitra and Raqqa. Explosive weapons continued to be used, including in populated areas. Indiscriminate aerial bombings by government forces and indiscriminate shelling and attacks by armed opposition, extremist and designated terrorist groups1 continued to result in death, injury and displacement.

4 . Syrian government forces continued military operations, including around Damascus and central areas of the country. In Rif Dimashq, government forces carried out air bombing campaigns. On 22 September, government forces conducted two air raids on the town of Hamouria, in eastern Ghouta, striking a row of street vendors, killing at least 10 civilians and injuring many others. On 24 September, also in Rif Dimashq, government forces carried out an air raid on a residential area in the district of Duma. According to information received by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at least one woman and four children between two and six years of age were severely injured when a rocket struck their three-story building. Surface-to-surface missiles were also reportedly fired into Jobar district, causing significant destruction to buildings.
In an incident on 26 September, six civilians, including a child, were reported killed by such attacks.

5 . International non-governmental organizations reported an intensification of bombing and shelling in and around the town of Erbin, Rif Dimashq. One hospital in the area treated some 975 trauma patients between 4 and 14 October, of whom 180 were children. More than 60 patients were reported to have died, 10 of them children under five. On 9 October, a market in Erbin was struck, with the hospital reporting it received some 250 wounded.

6 . In Idlib, Homs, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Darʽa, Syrian government forces continued to shell opposition-held areas using artillery and airstrikes, including barrel bombs. On 22 September, Government airplanes bombarded the towns of Saraqib and Ehsim in Idlib with rockets, killing at least 43 people, including children. In early October, during Eid al-Adha, barrel bombs were reportedly dropped in the town of Saraqib, in Idlib, killing one man and causing significant destruction. Barrel bombs were also reportedly dropped during Eid prayers in Rastan, in Homs governorate, killing one civilian. Government aerial bombardments in Aleppo were reported to have stopped for three days following the start of the anti-ISIL coalition airstrikes on 23 September. From 26 September, however, government airstrikes resumed with a significant number of reported barrel bombs. Analysis by the Operational Satellite Applications Programme of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) indicates ongoing bombardment of the city of Deir ez-Zor, likely in some instances by barrel bombs. OHCHR reports that between 18 and 30 September, at least 12 civilians were allegedly killed as a result of aerial attacks and shelling launched by government forces on Darʽa City and surrounding areas. This includes the shelling of Al-Sabil neighbourhood of Darʽa City on 22 September, which allegedly resulted in the killing of five civilians, including two children. Barrel bombs were reportedly dropped on Hara on 10 October, resulting in the death of 19 civilians. The use of cluster bombs was also reported in the opposition-controlled area of Darʽa al-Balad.

7 . During the reporting period, landmine use by government forces and anti-Government armed groups continued to pose a threat to civilians. On 19 September, seven civilians, including two children, were allegedly killed in the Lujah region in Darʽa Governorate when a landmine was set off. In Nawa, west of Darʽa, two men working on their farm were critically injured in a landmine explosion on 1 October. In Gadal village, approximately 40 kilometres north of Darʽa City, an unexploded ordnance detonated on 3 October, allegedly killing two children under five years of age of the same family.