UN: 1,089 civilians killed in Syria over 4 months

More than 1,000 civilians were killed in Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib over the past four months, the United Nations (UN) announced yesterday.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said that her office had managed to identify 1,089 civilians who were killed during the period from 29 April – 29 August.

Bachelet added that the killings were resulting from the airstrikes and ground-based attacks, which were carried out by the Syrian regime and its allies.

The victims, she added, had included 304 children and 213 women.

“I should not need to emphasize that these figures are appalling, shameful and deeply tragic,” Bachelet said.

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The UN official called on all the conflict parties “to put aside political differences and hold the carnage.”

Turkey and Russia agreed, last September, to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited. Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib would remain in areas where they were already present, while Russia and Turkey would carry out joint patrols in the area to prevent a resumption of fighting.

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.