UN Report Reveals Mass Atrocities in Syria, Recommends Arms Embargo

BARCELONA, Spain – The Syrian regime has used chemical agents in eight separate incidents, a UN report said, adding that mass atrocities are taking place in the war by government forces and Islamic militants.  

The report, released in Geneva Wednesday by the independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, called for an arms embargo.

“In April and May, Government forces used chemical agents, likely chlorine, in eight separate incidents in Western Syria,” the commission said.

“The Government continues to commit violations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, with impunity,” it added.

“Between January and July, hundreds of men, women and children were killed every week by the Government’s indiscriminate firing of missiles and barrel bombs into civilian-inhabited areas. In some instances, there is clear evidence that civilian gatherings were deliberately targeted, constituting massacres,” the report added.

It said children are increasingly recruited by non-state armed groups and by the government’s Popular Committees to participate in hostilities and provide support.

The breakdown of family and community networks, often due to the death or disappearance of men, has left women and girls vulnerable and primarily responsible for the care of their families, it added. “This vulnerability persists even in their lives as refugees, with sexual violence and child marriage on the rise in certain camps.”

The report said that some states continue to deliver mass shipments of arms, artillery and aircraft to the Syrian Government, or contribute with logistical and strategic assistance. Other states, organizations and individuals support armed groups with weapons and financial support. The weapons they transfer to the warring parties in Syria are used in the perpetration of war crimes and violations of human rights.

“The Commission has recommended the imposition of an arms embargo and called on the international community to curb the proliferation and supply of weapons,” the report said.

“The international community’s failure in its most elemental duties – to protect civilians, halt and prevent atrocities and create a path toward accountability – has been matched on the ground by an abandonment of even the pretense of an adherence to norms of international law. As can be seen today, this has grave implications for the entire region,” the report added.

It said that the continuous influx of foreign fighters and the success of extremist groups – such the Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS) were among reasons contributing to a spillover of violence, affecting international peace and stability.

“Risks of the conflict spreading further are palpable,” it emphasized.

ISIS started its military gains in Syria before conquering a third of Iraqi territory and declaring a Caliphate in lands under its control.

US President Barack Obama has authorized surveillance flights over Syria to monitor IS movements.

The move is seen as a prelude to air strikes, which Washington is already conducting against IS in Iraq.

The commission reported that “members of ISIS have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Aleppo and Ar-Raqqah governorates, including acts of torture, murder, enforced disappearances and forcible displacement.” 

“ISIS poses a clear and present danger to civilians, and particularly minorities, under its control in Syria and in the region,” warned commission head Paulo Pinheiro.

In areas of Syria under ISIS control, particularly in the north and northeast, Fridays are regularly marked by executions, amputations and lashings in public squares, the report said.

It added: Civilians, including children, are urged to watch; bodies of those killed are placed on display for several days, terrorizing the local population; women have been lashed for not abiding by the ISIS dress code; in Ar-Raqqah, children as young as 10 are being recruited and trained at ISIS camps; ISIS has forcibly displaced Kurdish communities in northern Syria; journalists and other media workers are systematically targeted.

The report is based on 480 interviews and a wealth of documentary material, chronicling the brutality and human cost of the Syrian conflict.

A separate United Nations report has said that some 200,000 people have been documented killed since the civil war in Syria started more than three years ago.