UN report confirms war crimes were committed

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has released its latest report, this time examining human rights violations and abuses committed during the offensive against eastern Aleppo in the second half of 2016. 

The Commission found that all parties to the conflict had shown “a wilful disregard” for international humanitarian law and said that war crimes were committed. 

Commenting on the report, Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood said:

“This latest UN report highlights the appalling suffering of the civilian population in eastern Aleppo, caused by the Syrian regime and its backers.  

“The regime and its backers are continuing to inflict indiscriminate bombardments and use starvation tactics in other parts of Syria, most alarmingly in the eastern Ghouta in rural Damascus. This UN report underlines the urgent need to strengthen the current ceasefire to avoid more innocent civilians enduring the same suffering as those in Aleppo. 

“The UK condemns in the strongest possible terms all human rights violations and abuses by all parties. We need to see a negotiated political transition to end this conflict and break the cycle of suffering. The UK will continue to work with international partners to support the people of Syria.”

The report outlines how the Assad regime used indiscriminate weapons such as barrel bombs; cluster munitions; incendiary and chemical weapons. Syrian and Russian air strikes claimed hundreds of lives, destroyed vital civilian infrastructure and forcibly displaced the population of eastern Aleppo.