The Weekly Report on Dignity Revolution’s Martyrs

From 25 till 31 October of 2014

Violations Documentation Center in Syria

 

Introduction and Citation:

This report covers the period from Sat 25–10-2014 until Fri 31–10-2014. However, it is worth pointing out the following:

1. Fatalities of the regime, the Army of National Defense (Shabiha), Lebanese Hizbullah, Iraqi and Iranian Militias are not included in the reported death toll. The report includes the number of victims on the hands of the regime and the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and coalition forces against ISIS. It doesn’t include numbers of victims on the hands of other fighting brigades.
2. These figures are not final in any way, and they are subject to continuous and periodic scrutiny by center’s activists, the data base administrators and the field documentation team.
3. Figures may differ between reports, even within the same district, and this can be referred to the territorial audit that would reveal places of errors and faults, as well as the continuous follow up to identify undistinguished martyrs whenever they are identified.

 

Victims of the Week:

During this period, the Violations Documentation Center in Syria managed to document (401) victims in all the Syrian governorates, (331) of whom were documented by names, while (84) i.e.(20 % ) of the total number, were unidentified bodies because they had turned into carnages.
Two of them documented by photo and (40) of them documented by video and (42) were documented only by witnessing.

First: the Distribution of victims according to Governorates

Homs governorate witnessed the fall of the largest number of victims, as the total number was (90 victims) i.e. (22.5 %), followed by Damascus Suburbs (59 victims) i.e. (15 %), then Hama (53 victims) followed by Idlib (48 victims).

 

Second: the Distribution of victims according to Death Causes

(88) Victims i.e. (22 %) died as a result of fire shots and sniper bullets, whereas (179) of them i.e. (45 %) died because of air shelling and barrel bombs. Moreover, (62) victims i.e. (16 %) killed because of artillery shelling and mortar shelling.

VDC has also documented (53) detainees under torture in detention centers around Syria and (2) person due to starvation and siege by regime forces, in addition to one fighter due to chemical weapons in Harasta city at Damascus Suburbs in 25-10-2014.

Third: the Distribution of victims according to the Days of the Week

Wednesday 29^th October 2014 witnessed the fall of the largest number of victims, when (100) of them fell i.e. (25 %) of the total number. After that, Saturday 25 October 2014 witnessed the fall of (74) martyrs i.e. (18.5 %) then Sunday 26 October 2014 witnessed the fall of (56) victims.

Fourth: the Distribution of victims according to Gender:

The number of male adult martyrs is (318 victims), i.e. (79 %) of the total number, the number of male children is (38 children), i.e. (10 %), the number of adult females is (24 victims), i.e. (6 %), the number of female children is (21 victims) i.e. (5 %).

Fifth: the Distribution of victims according to the Category (Civilian/ Non-civilian)

(287) civilian victims were reported i.e. (72 %) of the total number of victims, while only (114) fighters fell i.e. (28% (.

Sixth: Other

During this period Violations Documentation Center has documented more than (19) victims at the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS/Daash) including (12) civilians, and (7) fighters of the Free Syrian Army and other fighting factions.

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لأية ملاحظات أو أسئلة يمكن التواصل معنا عبر بريدنا الالكتروني
editor@vdc-sy.info

للاطلاع على تقاريرنا السابقة باللغة العربية
http://www.vdc-sy.org/index.php/ar/reports

للاطلاع على تقاريرنا السابقة باللغة الإنكليزية
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports/

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

DAMASCUS, Syria – Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem the resort town of Sochi for talks on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin and Moualem were discussing “bilateral relations.” He declined any further comment. Moualem was also expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Moscow has supported the Assad regime throughout the Syrian Civil War, supplying the regime with arms and other supplies.

Moualem’s two-day visit to Russiamay be a sign that Russia is attempting to renew ties with the Assad regime in an effort by Putin’s Russia to restart peace talks aimed at seeking an end to the Syrian Civil War. Peace talks held in Geneva collapsed earlier this year. However, Western analysts and diplomats say the renewed push by the Putin Government is unlikely to be fruitful because of splits between world powers of the fate of the Assad regime, which many accuse of committing several war crimes including widespread and systematic abuses of human rights which include indiscriminate attacks against civilian populations.

Last month Syrian government helicopter dropped two barrel bombs on a camp filled with civilians displaced by fighting in the country’s northern region. The attack reportedly killed at least 40 people at the camp near al-Habeet in the northern province of Idlib on October 29^th. According to an activists, the majority of the people killed in the attack were and no presence of armed groups was reported in the vicinity of the camp. Footage of the attack was uploaded to YouTube, in the video a voice can be heard saying “it’s a massacre of refugees.” He said “Let the whole world see this, they are displaced people. Look at them, they are civilians, displaced civilians. They fled the bombardment.” According to the United Nations, Nearly 10 million people have been displaced in Syria since the start of the country’s Civil War in 2011. An estimated 3 million refugees have fled the country and the conflict has killed close to 200,000 people.

Barrel bombs are crudely made bombs made of barrels or other containers filled with nails, metal shrapnel and explosive which are often dropped from helicopters. The bombs are extremely indiscriminate and are often used to attack civilian populations in areas that are believed to support rebels fighting the Assad regime as a form of collective punishment. The Assad has continued using barrel bombs in civilian areas despite a UN resolution banning their use.

For more information please see:

The Jerusalem Post – Russia’s Putin Holds Talks with Syrian Foreign Minister – 26 November 2014

Reuters – Russia’s New Push for Syria Dialogue Unlikely To Be Fruitful – 26 November 2014

Al Jazeera – Many Killed In Syria Barrel Bomb ‘Massacre’ – 26 October 2014

The Guardian – Barrel Bombs Hit Syrian Refugee Camp, Say Residents – 26 October 2014