After more than a decade of brutal fighting, Commission President Paulo Pinheiro said Deadly dynamics are sparking new waves of hostilities.
“The recent direct fighting in northeastern Syria around Deir-ez-Zor between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on one side and Arab tribes, government forces and Iranian-backed militias on the other, evokes the deep-rooted grievances among the population in this part of northeastern Syria“, he said.
Regional tensions are rising
The report links rising tensions in the region over the war in Gaza, increased Israeli attacks on Iranian officials and Iranian-backed forces in Syria, which have left at least three civilians dead.
The Syria Commission says it is investigating these attacks and has found that Iran-linked groups have also attacked US bases in eastern Syria more than 100 times, prompting US counterstrikes.
At least 18 people were killed in an alleged Israeli attack on a factory the West says produces chemical weapons on Sunday, according to news reports.
Cluster munitions
Based on investigations by the Commission, increased violence in northwestern Syria, including the use of cluster munitions by Syrian government forces in densely populated areas of Idlib, has killed or injured more than 150 civilians, half of them women and children. These attacks, together with Russian airstrikes causing civilian casualties, may amount to war crimes, the report said.
Another investigation was launched after a massacre in Daraa by a pro-government militia, in which ten people, including two children, were brutally executed with knives or gunshots. These attacks could amount to “war crimes in the form of murder and outrages upon personal dignity.”
“The events in Daraa bore the hallmarks of some of the most horrific atrocities committed in more than a decade of conflict in Syria,” said Commissioner Hanny Megally.
“Government forces stationed just metres from the carnage failed to intervene and protect civilians, highlighting how Syria is sliding further into lawlessness..”
Tortures
The report states that the Commission considers that the Syrian government continues to torture persons in state custody through sexual and gender-based violence – including other forms – despite a International Court of Justice (IGH) to stop these practices.
Deaths in state custody were documented, and Syrian authorities obstructed families’ attempts to locate their arbitrarily detained relatives, often by demanding bribes for information or visits. In some cases, families did not receive official notification of deaths for a decade, leaving them in the dark for a decade.
These detention practices confirmed ongoing war crimes by various actors and, in state custody, crimes against humanity.
Based on the findings of the report, the Commission says:Syria sinks deeper into alarming humanitarian crisis that threatens to get out of hand.”
It further noted that only a quarter of humanitarian needs for 2024 are funded, while 13,000 civilians face acute food insecurity and more than 650,000 children show signs of stunting due to severe malnutrition.