ISTANBUL
As the Syrian crisis is being evaluated and debated again with a stronger focus on Daesh in the wake of recent bloody attacks in Paris that have left the international community severely traumatized, some recent data demonstrates that the Bashar al-Assad regime is the primary cause of violence and civilian casualties in Syria.
A latest report of the Syrian Network for Human Rights has laid out that the Assad regime accounts for 95 percent of civilian deaths in Syria. The network keeps a close track of the civilian and military casualties in Syria through its extensive news sources in the country and is deemed by the Western media as the primary source on the number of human losses in the country.
According to the network’s report, during the period between March 2011 and October 2015, nearly 200,000 civilians have lost their lives in the conflicts between the regime's forces, armed opposition groups, the Daesh terrorist organization, the al-Nusra Front, the coalition forces led by the United States, and finally, in the air raids carried out by Russia, which has begun to intervene in the civil war with a considerable military force.
However, the number of civilians killed in the attacks by the Syrian regime alone is 180,879.
‘Regime forces main party to blame’
The report emphasizes that the Assad regime, despite its efforts to present itself as the sole alternative to war against terrorism in parallel with the Russian strategy to eradicate the "moderate opposition" with its airstrikes, is primarily responsible for the violence, killings, and civilian casualties in the country.
It criticizes the international media and a number of political leaders for focusing solely on the brutal actions of Daesh, thereby turning a blind eye to the Syrian regime, which must be regarded as the main culprit of the large-scale massacres and extrajudicial executions in the country, which tantamount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Children targeted by snipers
According to the report, which provides detailed information on the indiscriminate attacks of the Assad regime directly targeting civilians, a total of 18,858 children have been killed during the period in question in attacks conducted by the Syrian regime using missiles, heavy weapons, cluster bombs, toxic gases, and barrel bombs.
Another report issued by the Syrian network entitled "Hunting Human" states that 582 children have been shot dead by snipers. The report strongly underlines that these children were deliberately targeted and murdered intentionally given that the most important feature of a sniping rifle is that it clearly shows the target.
Also stated in the report is that sharpshooters of the regime particularly target schools, mosques, hospitals in residential areas, and use their weapons especially on Fridays in order to deter people from going out.
"Anybody supporting the sale of sniping weapons to the Syrian regime and militants has a share in the war crimes being committed in Syria," the report points out.
Civilians casualties in Russian strikes increase rapidly
The report also shows Russia as one of the major causes of the recent civilian casualties, noting that it has become involved in the civil war in Syria on the grounds of combating Daesh, whereas it has largely condensed its operations on the so-called "moderate opposition" so far.
The number of civilians killed in the airstrikes Russia launched 50 days ago is 263, the report says. Although this number is dwarfed by other figures provided regarding the total civilian casualties during the five years of the civil war by far, it is estimated that the civilian deaths caused by Russia will greatly increase in the event it continues its bombardments with the same momentum, particularly considering that Russia has not mentioned a timeframe within which to end its operations, and that its operations are at a beginning phase.
‘UN Security Council must take further action’
In the recommendations section, the report stated that the UN Security Council adopted resolution No. 2139 in February 2014 regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria, but since that time, the Assad regime has not shown any degree of commitment to halting its indiscriminate shelling, causing destruction and killings daily.
The report emphasizes the need for the Security Council to take a more serious step on this matter. In addition, the report states that the Security Council "must put pressure on the Assad regime and its allies like Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia to stop supplying it with arms and military experts after its proven involvement in crimes against humanity and war crimes. It also must pass a resolution to condemn the sides that supply it with weapons".
Regime's role in emergence of Daesh
In a statement sent to Anadolu Agency, Wael Aleji, the spokesperson for the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said that there has been a shift in the narrative in which the focus is more on Daesh and the threats it represents in terms of regional and global security.
"It is Assad and his sectarian actions that played a big role in giving rise to ISIS [Daesh]…Some argue that Assad is less of an evil when compared with ISIS [Daesh] and that the international community should cooperate with Assad in order to defeat Assad. I believe that both of Assad and ISIS mutually benefit from each other's existence," Aliji argues.
The actions of the Syrian regime and its sectarian policies played a great role in the emergence of Daesh, Aliji said, adding that the present situation "gives them the excuse required to manipulate the international community."
He also said that they have always advocated that the UN must play a role, including the options of deploying a stability mission and a peace enforcement mission to put an end to the war and ongoing massacres in the country.
"An alternative would be a good-will coalition outside the UN, but this sounds extremely unlikely considering the size of the Russian and Iranian involvement. In our view, the most realistic option would be a political process that would lead to UN-organized and mentored elections and transition of power," he added.
Report noted armed opposition groups killing 2,669 civilians, unidentified groups (2,002 civilians), Daesh (1,712); Kurdish forces (379), al-Nusra front (347), Russian forces (263) and international coalition forces (251).
At least 250,000 people have been killed since the Syria conflict began in 2011, according to UN figures, with 7.6 million internally displaced and over four million having fled to nearby countries.
