After 346 civilian deaths in Syria this month, UN calls to end ‘monstrous annihilation campaign’
UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein attacked what he called a “monstrous campaign of annihilation” on Wednesday against the besieged civilian population of eastern Ghouta in Syria.
“International humanitarian law was developed precisely to stop this type of situation, where civilians are slaughtered in droves in order to fulfil political or military objectives,” he said in a statement.
Information documented by his office alone showed at least 346 civilian deaths and 878 injuries, mostly from air strikes on residential areas, since the Syrian government and its allies escalated an offensive against the rebel-held enclave on Feb. 4. There were also 15 deaths and 51 injuries reported among civilians in and around Damascus, the result of a dramatic escalation of rebel fire on government areas. Many of the violations may amount to war crimes, he said. Women and children, trapped for five years of siege, were now in a state of panic, without food, sanitation, or safe havens after air strikes destroyed their homes, Zeid said.
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