Switzerland UN Commission: Violence in Syria's civil war on the rise

The conflict in Syria, which has been ongoing since 2011, is threatening to escalate once again.

There are "new waves of hostilities", said Paulo Pinheiro, Chairman of the Syria Commission of Inquiry of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva. He presented the latest report that the commission presented to the UN Human Rights Council.

Pinheiro referred to recent fighting in north-eastern Syria between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the one side and government troops, Arab tribes and Iranian-backed militias on the other. The SDF are supported by the USA.

Escalation through retaliatory strikes

According to the report, Israel has increasingly attacked targets in Syria in the wake of the tensions since the terrorist attack on October 7 and the start of the Gaza war. Iranian militias have been attacked in the process. These in turn responded with attacks on US bases, whereupon US troops carried out military strikes.

The commission refers to incidents between January 1 and June 30. During this period, six countries were militarily active there, including Russia and Turkey in addition to the USA.

War crimes

In the north-west, government troops used internationally banned cluster munitions. At least 150 people, half of them women and children, were killed or injured as a result. According to the commission, this could constitute war crimes. Turkish forces had hit power plant turbines and medical buildings during air strikes in the north-east. This is also illegal.

The commission accuses the government of torturing prisoners. It also condemns the fact that the SDF, led by Kurdish militias, has been holding almost 30,000 minors in camps for years in devastating conditions because their parents are said to have supported the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).

SDA