Airstrikes across rebel-held Syria kill and wound scores
Help uphold Syria ceasefire: UN envoy
BEIRUT, March 25, (AP): Warplanes struck rebelheld parts of Syria Saturday hitting a women’s prison and a clinic, killing and wounding scores of people, amid clashes on multiple fronts between government forces and insurgent groups in some of the worst violence the country has witnessed in weeks, opposition activists said Saturday.
The airstrikes, of which some activists said included Russian air raids, concentrated on the rebelheld northwestern province of Idlib, the central province of Hama and suburbs of the capital Damascus that have come under attack by insurgent groups over the past week.
One of the airstrikes hit a main street in the Damascus suburb of Hamouriyeh killing at least 16 people and wounded more than 50, activists said. The airstrikes caused wide destruction in the area.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said in a statement released in Geneva that he is deeply concerned by the recent escalation of violence in Syria, highlighting that it undermines a Dec. 30 cease-fire brokered by Turkey, Iran and Russia who back opposing parties in the conflict.
The statement said de Mistura had communicated with the foreign ministers of the three countries, appealing to them to exert urgent efforts to uphold the cease-fire.
Speaking after meeting on Saturday with the UN envoy in Geneva as part of a fresh round of Syrian peace talks, Nasr al-Hariri, the head of the main opposition delegation, lashed out at Assad’s “killing machine” and both named, and showed photos of some of the victims — including some featuring graphic imagery.
“This is the fault of warplanes,” he told reporters. “These are the ones who claim to fight terrorism who are responsible for this horrible massacre in Hamouna.”
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes on Hamouriyeh killed 16, including eight women and children, and wounded more than 50. The Local Coordination said 18 were killed and dozens were wounded.
Both groups said some people are still missing, and that the death toll could rise.
“They have been hitting Hamouriyeh for days but today they struck an area packed with civilians,” said Awis al-Shami of The Civil Defense searchand-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets, via text message.
The airstrikes come as insurgent groups have been on the offensive in Damascus and the central province of Hama for the past days. Government forces and their allies launched a counteroffensive capturing some of the areas they lost in Damascus and Hama.
Opposition activists also reported airstrikes in Idlib province hitting several towns and villages as well as the provincial capital the carries the same name.
The Observatory said a Friday night attack struck a prison run by militants, killing at least 16 people including prisoners and prison staff in Idlib city. It added that women were among the dead as well.
The monitoring group, which has a network of activists around the country, said some people were killed by gunfire as prison guards chased detainees who tried to flee after the attack.
The Syrian National Coalition, one of the largest opposition groups, said the airstrikes on Idlib targeted among other things a women’s prison, saying that dozens of people were killed or wounded.
The Observatory and the Syrian Civil Defense group, also known as the White Helmets, said an airstrike struck a clinic in the village of Kfar Nubul in Idlib province. They had no immediate word on casualties.
The Local Coordination Committees said five air raids struck the city of Idlib without giving further details.
Idlib is a stronghold of Syrian insurgent groups and is regularly targeted by Syrian and Russian warplanes.
In the central province of Hama, Syrian government forces and their allies launched a counteroffensive, capturing some of the areas they lost in an attack by insurgents earlier this week.
The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said Saturday that government forces regained control of the village of Kawkab and repelled an attack on the town of Qamhana.
The Observatory reported intense clashes in the area adding that, under the pressure of shelling and airstrikes, insurgents had to withdraw from some recently gained areas.
On Wednesday, insurgents advanced to within a few kilometers of the government-held city of Hama in their new offensive spearheaded by an al-Qaeda-linked group.
The fighting forced thousands of civilians to flee the area, according to
international aid groups.
Elsewhere, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has written to the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran to urge them to “undertake urgent efforts to uphold the ceasefire regime” in Syria and to smooth the way for peace talks, a statement said on Saturday.
“The Special Envoy recalls that the joint efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey to guarantee the ceasefire are indispensable for improving the conditions on the ground and contributing to an environment conducive for a productive political progress,” the statement said.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Friday condemning the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage and warning the Islamic State extremist group, al-Qaeda and other combatants that such attacks may constitute war crimes.
The resolution approved by the UN’s most powerful body expands previous measures which were limited to the illicit trafficking in looted cultural items to fund terrorism, and focused on Iraq and Syria where Islamic State extremists have destroyed ancient sites including Palmyra.
The newly adopted measure targets not only IS, al-Qaeda and its affiliates but all parties to conflicts.
It condemns and urges prosecution of those responsible for attacks against historic monuments and sites and buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes as well as those who carry out illegal excavations, loot and traffic in stolen goods.
Irina Bokova, head of the UN cultural agency UNESCO, called the resolution “historic” saying it “reflects new recognition of the importance of cultural heritage for peace and security.”
“Heritage is identity — it is belonging,” she told the council after the vote. “The deliberate destruction of heritage
is a war crime — it has become a tactic of war, in a global strategy of cultural cleansing.”
Bokova said that’s why defending cultural heritage “is a security imperative, inseparable from that of defending human lives.”
UN political chief Jeffrey Feltman said the resolution “aims to strengthen international cooperation to deprive terrorists of funding, but also to protect cultural heritage as a symbol of understanding and respect for all religions, beliefs and civilizations.”
The resolution calls for international cooperation in investigations, prosecutions, confiscations and the return of looted and trafficked cultural property. It also calls on member states to carry out measures including introducing or improving cultural inventory lists and adopting import and export regulations that require certification of the provenance of cultural items.
Yuri Fedotov, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, called the destruction of landmarks such as the giant Buddhas in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, the Roman monuments in Palmyra and shrines and mosques in the Iraqi cities of Tikrit and Mosul “reprehensible attempts to erase history.”
“But the destruction and looting are also generating profits for terrorists through trafficking, carried out in collusion with organized crime groups,” he said. “Those profits fund further acts of terrorism, and enable yet more destruction and looting of cultural sites and archaeological treasures.”
Fedotov said his office is working with UNESCO, INTERPOL and others to strengthen national, regional and international responses.
“We have the treaties, tools, guidelines and training materials,” he said. “But we need to operationalize commitments more effectively, and we need member states to provide more resources in the spirit of shared responsibility.”