Red Cross Denied Access to Civilians as Shelling Continues in Syria

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian security forces resumed their attacks on the city of Homs, causing more civilian deaths and preventing relief access to the wounded. On Sunday 04 March 2012, activists reported that a bombardment came to Syria’s third-largest city of approximately one million residents as China presented a proposal to end the violence in the country. It called for an immediate ceasefire and dialogue between all of the parties but stood firm against any type of intervention by outside forces.

 

A member of the Syrian Free Army. (Photo Courtesy of NYT)

In addition to Homs, the Syrian security forces also descended upon the rebel-dominated city of Rastan on Sunday 04 March 2012. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, four children were said to be among seven civilians killed in the shelling. The victims included as many as six family members when a rocket crashed into their home, causing the building to collapse.

The focal point of the attacks by security forces has been the western Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr, where the situation has been described as “catastrophic.” On Saturday 03 March 2012, there were reports of power outages, shortages of food and water, and no medical care for the sick and wounded. The Red Cross has desperately been trying to gain access to the city for three days, attempting to deliver aid and supplies to those in need. The closest that the organization has come to assisting Baba Amr is handing out food and blankets to those fortunate enough to have the ability to flee the city to nearby areas.

Syrian officials informed the Red Cross that Baba Amr had to be cleared of booby traps before they could enter the area. But activists reported that troops were carrying out reprisal attacks around the city, causing more death and violence at the expense of thousands of civilians. While the attacks continue to occur, the bodies of two foreign journalists who lost their lives for the sake of letting the world know what was happening on the ground left Syria and were headed to France. The bodies of Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin were placed on an Air France flight from Damascus on the evening of Saturday 03 March 2012.

Rebels from the Free Syrian Army withdrew their forces from Baba Amr late last week, as the weeks of shelling from government forces made it increasingly difficult for the rebels to maintain their positions. The Syrian government gave the Red Cross permission to access Baba Amr but once the help actually arrived in the form of a convoy, the government refused to allow it to enter the city. BBC correspondent Jim Muir, reporting from Lebanon, stated that this is when the Red Cross decided to assist those who were lucky enough to flee Baba Amr. Muir also stated that the ICRC had dispatched a 15-man team to the Abil area, a southern part of Baba Amr.

ICRC spokesperson Hicham Hassan shared these words with Reuters about the developing situation.

“The plan is to continue to the neighborhoods of Inshaat and Tawzii in order to assist local populations and families displaced from Baba Amr. We really don’t know how many people are still in there. It’s all a bit of a mystery to us.”

The Syrian state television has been broadcasting pictures of deserted streets laden with debris, being careful not to display any strife on the part of civilians. There have been a multitude of unconfirmed reports of revenge killings and summary executions by Syrian forces in Baba Amr. Opposition activists believe that a government-wide cover up is responsible for the delay in bringing these reports to public attention. The reports detail mass arrests of males over the age of 11, with the local cooperative building being transformed into a detention facility.

Another report detailed that truck full of bodies was seen driving away from Baba Amr.

Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy, who fled Syria after being wounded while working in Homs, told the BBC that what he saw on the ground in Baba Amr classified as “systematic slaughter.”

“I’ve done a fair few wars, I’ve never seen anything on this level.”

Activists have reported that approximately 7,500 people have lost their lives since the demonstrations and protests against President Bashar al-Assad began almost a year ago. The government had repeatedly and staunchly blamed “terrorists and armed gangs” for the violence. Regardless of who the government chooses to throw the blame on, the people of Syria continue to pay a fatal toll as each day goes by.

The international community continues to debate the appropriate course of action and each day seems to bring a new idea to the table. The proposal by China and Turkey strictly rules out the use of foreign intervention, a theme that seems so necessary at this point but will not be used. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the lack of consensus among the international community has only emboldening the Syrian government to proceed with its crackdown. Davutoglu stated that the gravity of the killing closely resembles the bloodshed of the Balkans war of the 1990s.

He described the actions of al-Assad’s regime as “crimes against humanity.” And these crimes will only continue while the rest of the world watches and reports on the situation, instead formulating and agreeing on a plan to end it.

 

 

For more information, please see: 

Ahram – China Demands End To Violence As Syria Blocks Aid – 04 March 2012

Al-Jazeera – Syrian Forces Renew Assault On Homs – 04 March 2012

BBC – Syria Crisis: Red Cross Pushes For Baba Amr Access – 04 March 2012

CNN – Rockets Fall On Syrian City of Rastan, Opposition Activists Say – 04 March 2012

The Guardian – Syria: Red Cross Blocked Again From Baba Amr – 04 March 2012

NYT – Bearing Witness in Syria: A Correspondent’s Last Days – 03 March 2012

 

Author: Impunity Watch Archive