Syria Watch

Syrian Network for Human Rights: The Syrian Regime Uses Chemical Weapons again and Insults the Security Council for a 137th Time
On Monday 6 September 2016 around 1:30 PM, government forces helicopters dropped a barrel bomb loaded with poison gases near “Wafaa Kharsa” pharmacy in Al Sukkari neighborhood, Aleppo city. We documented the killing of one individual, Mohammad AbdulKarim Afifa, in that attack while no less than 80 others were injured showing symptoms such as suffocation and shortness of breath.
SNHR contacted a number of residents who witnessed the bombardment incident (some of them suffered breathing difficulties), they told us about the symptoms they saw on the injured such as suffocation, red eyes, limbs tremoring which was also confirmed by the pictures and videos we received and have stored.
Website
Facebook
Google Plus
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
RSS
Email

Syria Justice and Accountability Centre: Justice for Victims and the War on Terror

SJAC Update | Sept 7, 2016
Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Photo from Wikipedia

Justice for Victims and the War on Terror
Since September 11, 2001, terrorism and the resulting War on Terror has dominated the headlines and preoccupied global national security efforts. Nowhere has the effects of terrorism been felt more acutely than in the Middle East, and the response from governments in the region has often been erratic and heavy handed. Iraq is a case in point. On August 21, the Iraqi government executed 36 men following a conviction last year by Iraq’s central criminal court in Baghdad. The men were hanged for their involvement in a 2014 mass killing of around 1700 people claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Many human rights groups criticized the trial and subsequent hangings because the defendants did not have access to their lawyers and the evidence against them primarily relied on confessions made under duress and the accusations of secret informants. Because the executions took place in the wake of international criticism that Iraq has been too soft on ISIS, the trial’s brevity and lack of due process made the executions seem more akin to vengeance killings than justice. It was also a missed opportunity to thoroughly air the grievances of Iraqi victims who have suffered immensely as a result of ISIS’s atrocities.

Even in Western democracies, individuals suspected of ties with terrorism are held and tried secretly under obscure national security laws. As we approach the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks, and his co-defendants are still awaiting trial by a military commission in Guantanamo Bay. Not only does this delay undermine the accused’s right to a speedy trial, but the victims of 9/11 and their families have grown frustrated at the lack of a judicial resolution. Both the US Congress and the Department of Defense fought to keep the trials out of civilian courts by claiming security concerns, but in civilian courts, basic human rights standards would have been upheld, the defendants would have been convicted years ago, and victims would have gotten much needed closure.
READ MORE
The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) is a Syrian-led and multilaterally supported nonprofit that envisions a Syria where people live in a state defined by justice, respect for human rights, and rule of law. SJAC collects, analyzes, and preserves human rights law violations by all parties in the conflict — creating a central repository to strengthen accountability and support transitional justice and peace-building efforts. SJAC also conducts research to better understand Syrian opinions and perspectives, provides expertise and resources, conducts awareness-raising activities, and contributes to the development of locally appropriate transitional justice and accountability mechanisms. Contact us at info@syriaaccountability.org.

Syria Deeply: Weekly Update: ‘Surrender or Die Because of Siege’

The most important updates on the war in Syria.
View this email in your browser

WEEKLY UPDATE
September 3, 2016
Dear Readers,Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important stories and developments about Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis. But first, here is a brief overview of what happened this week:For years, areas under opposition control in Syria have been subjected to blockades, cut off from electricity and water and denied humanitarian aid. This week, the end goal of this Syrian government strategy became abundantly clear.“The technique followed in most battles in Syria … is consolidating areas by besieging the area, and consistently attacking it, even if slowly, because in the end the only option they have is to either surrender or die because of siege,” a Syria-based Hezbollah fighter told Syria Deeply.Over the weekend, the Syrian army took control of Darayya, a town in the Damascus suburbs that has been under government-imposed siege since 2012. Thousands of civilians and fighters were evacuated as the opposition gave up control of the area, putting an end to years of dire living conditions with little or no access to humanitarian aid and subjected to constant aerial bombardments.Roughly 4,000 civilians were transferred to government shelters near the capital and 1,000 rebel fighters were relocated to the rebel-held Idlib province. The agreement also allowed for the evacuation of some 300 civilians on Friday from Muadamiyet al-Sham, just outside of Damascus.United Nations adviser Jan Egeland criticized the forced evacuations in the besieged areas, saying “a siege is not broken by the population giving up after starvation and after bombing.”Rebel losses in the Damascus suburbs came just as other opposition factions launched the biggest offensive against government areas in Hama province since 2014. Among the rebels fighting in Hama are fighters from the extremist group Jund al-Aqsa and several factions from the Free Syrian Army.Opposition forces seized several towns in predominately Christian and Alawite areas since the offensive began, including the town of Halfaya, located near the main road that connects coastal areas with the Damascus-Aleppo highway. More than 50 opposition fighters have been killed since clashes began.Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad increased airstrikes on Hama province in retaliation for the opposition offensive. At least 25 civilians were killed in aerial bombardments overnight on Tuesday.Airstrikes also intensified in Syria’s northern provinces this week. Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish-held areas near Turkey’s border killed 35 civilians on Sunday.

Weekly Highlights:

As ISIS Withdraws, Land Mines Lurk In Northern Syria

As ISIS is pushed out of several areas of northern Syria, militants are leaving behind thousands of improvised explosive devices. The international community must address this civilian danger, writes human rights activist Bassam al-Ahmad.
A landmine disguised as a rock left behind by the Islamic State in the city of Manbij. Syria With No Mines Campaign

Fewer Journalist Deaths in Syria – Because There Aren’t Many Left

The Committee to Protect Journalists spoke to Syria Deeply about how their work has transformed to meet the needs of journalists reporting on and in Syria, a country that has become an increasingly hostile environment for the press.
Turkish journalists holding photographs of their colleagues who lost their lives in Syria, from left, Anthony Shadid, Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin, stage a protest outside the Syrian Embassy in Ankara. AP/Burhan Ozbilici, File

Milk and Mentors: Helping Syrian Women Support Their Families

From getting formula to hungry babies to teaching women how to run their own businesses, NuDay Syria gives aid and support to millions of Syrians. For the nonprofit’s founder, Nadia Alawa, it’s about helping women and children survive the war with dignity.
Among the projects that NuDay Syria oversees is one that gets formula to infants, many of them orphaned. Courtesy of NuDay Syria

Additional Reading:

Find our new reporting and analysis every weekday at www.newsdeeply.com/syria.
You can reach our team with any comments or suggestions at info@newsdeeply.org.

Top image: Civilians sit on a Syrian government bus at the entrance of Darayya, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. Civilians were evacuated this week after a four-year-long siege in the city. AP Photo
Become A Fan
Follow Us

Syrian Network for Human Rights: Crimes against humanity and War Crimes are the reason behind the forced migration in Darayya
Siege, Chemical Weapons, Barrel Bombs, and International Silence
I. Introduction
One of the largest cities in Western Ghouta, Darayya city is located in Damascus suburbs governorate and is eight kilometers away from the capital Damascus. The city’s location has a strategical importance given that it is located near the Al Mazze military airbase and the headquarters of the Air Force Intelligence which is within the airbase building.
Like other cities and areas that opposed the Syrian regime, Darayya city was bombed and destroyed. Additionally, the city homes were raided, and its people were killed, tortured, and arbitrarily arrested.
Website
Facebook
Google Plus
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
RSS
Email

Syria Deeply: Weekly Update: Disturbed Alliances and Regional Interventions

The most important updates on the war in Syria.
View this email in your browser

WEEKLY UPDATE
August 27, 2016
Dear Readers,Welcome to the weekly Syria Deeply newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important developments about Syria and the Syrians in order to bring you valuable news and analysis. But first, a brief overview:The week saw key shifts in alliances on the ground in Syria as diplomatic relations thawed between regional and world powers involved in the six-year conflict.The YPG, the main Syrian Kurdish militia, defeated government forces in the northeastern city of Hasaka. It also brought the U.S. close to direct confrontation with the Syrian government, after its airstrikes hit close to where U.S. special forces were stationed. A cease-fire was reached after Kurdish forces took control of the entire city, allowing the government to maintain hold over a few buildings in the security quarter.Despite being a key U.S. ally in the fight against ISIS, Kurdish YPG forces came under fire following Turkey’s military intervention in Syria. Turkish tanks, planes and special forces crossed the border to target both ISIS militants and Kurdish YPG forces, whom Turkey sees as an extension of the PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy since the 1980s. Syrian rebels, backed by the Turkish army pushed out ISIS militants from Jarablus, the last significant border town controlled by the so-called Islamic State. U.S. vice president Joe Biden echoed Turkish demands that the YPG retreat to east of the Euphrates river or risk losing U.S. support.One week after Russia started using an Iranian airbase in Iran to strike targets in Syria, Iran declared Russian planes will no longer be allowed to do so after apparently being displeased that their guests publicized the event. The Russian Defense Ministry said its military had completed its operations, but kept the door open to future agreements to use its Iran’s airbases.A joint investigative team of U.N. and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced that the Syrian government was responsible for at least two chemical weapons attacks in 2014 and 2015, and ISIS was responsible for one. An additional six attacks were investigated, with three pointing at government responsibility and another three inconclusive.Government and rebel forces have agreed to evacuate civilians and fighters from the town of Darayya, under government siege since 2012. Only 5 miles (8km) outside of Damascus, residents there have faced near constant bombing, water shortages and food scarcity, with only one aid convoy allowed in four years of siege. Government bombing last week destroyed the town’s last hospital.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva in an attempt to restart peace talks. Kerry said he was hopeful, but not optimistic of the results.

Weekly Highlights

Analysis: No End to Aleppo’s Brutal Stalemate:

Intensified fighting in Syria’s largest city does not mean its stalemate will end any time soon. We look into the four-year-old stalemate in the deeply divided city of Aleppo in light of the recent battles there.
A Syrian man rides a motorcycle passing by a damaged building that was destroyed by airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo Media Center via AP

How to Help in Syria:

A list of organizations providing much-needed support for millions of Syrians in critical need of medical aid, food, water and shelter.
For new reporting and analysis every weekday, visit www.newsdeeply.com/syria.
You can reach our team with any comments or suggestions at info@newsdeeply.org.

Top image: A screenshot from a video shows five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, who was pulled from the rubble of a bombed building, bloodied and in shock, after an airstrike in Aleppo. Aleppo Media Center
Become A Fan
Follow Us