Increased violence along the frontlines in Syria, with continued war crimes on all sides, is leaving civilians in the region fearful of a “large-scale war”, a new report from the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry released on Tuesday warns.
After over a decade of brutal fighting, the Commission Chair, Paulo Pinheiro, said that deadly dynamics are causing new waves of hostilities.
“The recent direct fighting in northeast Syria around Deir-ez-Zor between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the one hand and Arab tribes, Government forces and Iran-backed militia on the other, evokes the deeply entrenched grievances among the population in this part of northeast Syria,” he said.
Regional tensions grow
The report links rising regional tensions stemming from the Gaza war, increased Israeli attacks against Iranian officials and Iranian-backed forces across Syria, which resulted in at least three civilian casualties.
The Syria Commission says they are investigating these attacks and noted that Iranian-affiliated groups have also targeted US bases in eastern Syria over 100 times, prompting US counter-attacks.
According to news reports, an alleged Israeli strike on a facility that the West alleges produced chemical weapons on Sunday, left at least 18 dead.
Cluster munitions
Based on investigations by the Commission, increased violence in northwest Syria, including Syrian Government forces’ use of cluster munitions in densely populated areas of Idlib, has killed or injured over 150 civilians, half of them women and children. These attacks, along with Russian airstrikes causing civilian casualties, may amount to war crimes, the report said.
Another investigation was launched following a massacre in Dara’a by a pro-Government militia which brutally executed 10 people, including two children, by knives or gunshots. These attacks could amount to “war crimes of murder and outrages on personal dignity.”
“The events in Daraa bore the hallmarks of some of the most heinous atrocities committed during more than a decade of conflict in Syria,” Commissioner Hanny Megally said.
“Government forces stationed just metres from the massacre failed to intervene and protect civilians, displaying how Syria is descending deeper into lawlessness.”
Acts of torture
The report said the Commission believes the Syrian government has continued to torture persons in State custody through sexual and gender-based violence – including other forms – despite an International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to cease these practices.
Deaths in State custody were documented, and Syrian authorities impeded families’ efforts to locate their arbitrarily detained relatives, often demanding bribes for information or visits. In some cases, families only received official notifications of deaths after a ten-year delay, leaving them in limbo for a decade.
These detention practices confirmed ongoing war crimes by various actors and, in State custody, crimes against humanity.
Based on the report’s findings, the Commission says “Syria is falling deeper into an alarming humanitarian crisis that threatens to spiral out of control.”
It was further noted that only a quarter of the humanitarian needs for 2024 are funded while 13,000 civilians face acute food insecurity and more than 650,000 children show signs of stunting from severe malnutrition.
