Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

U.N. to investigate attacks on humanitarian sites in northwest Syria

Published 08/01/2019, 12:22 PM
Updated 08/01/2019, 12:26 PM
U.N. to investigate attacks on humanitarian sites in northwest Syria

U.N. to investigate attacks on humanitarian sites in northwest Syria

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations will investigate attacks on U.N.-supported facilities and other humanitarian sites in northwest Syria, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday, two days after two-thirds of the Security Council pushed for an inquiry.

Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Peru, Poland, Kuwait, the Dominican Republic and Indonesia delivered a demarche - a formal diplomatic petition - to Guterres on Tuesday over the lack of an inquiry into attacks on some 14 locations.

"The investigation will cover destruction of, or damage to facilities on the deconfliction list and U.N.-supported facilities in the area," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, adding that it will "ascertain the facts of these incidents and report to the Secretary-General."

"The Secretary-General urges all parties concerned to cooperate with the board once it has been established," he said.

The locations of the U.N. supported facilities and other humanitarian sites like hospitals and health centers had been shared with the warring parties in a bid to protect them. However, the United Nations has questioned whether it made them a target.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, backed by Russia, began an offensive on the last major insurgent stronghold three months ago that the United Nations says has killed at least 450 civilians and displaced more than 440,000 people.

Russia and Syria have said their forces are not targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure and questioned the sources used by the United Nations to verify attacks. Syria has also told the United Nations that more than a 100 sites "have been out of commission since being taken over by terrorist groups."

An array of insurgents have a foothold in northwestern Syria. The most powerful is the jihadist Tahrir al-Sham, the latest incarnation of the former Nusra Front which was part of al Qaeda until 2016.

Deputy Russian U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters it was a mistake for Guterres to give in to pressure and set up the inquiry. He said Russia would investigate Guterres' legal basis for setting up the board of inquiry.

"We doubt very much that this is for the sake of investigation - this is for the sake of blaming Syria and Russia (for) the things we did not do," he said on Thursday.

The Security Council has been deadlocked on Syria with Russia and China - two of the body's five veto powers along with Britain, France and the United States - shielding Assad's government from any action during eight years of war.

In 2014, former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set up a similar inquiry into attacks on U.N. facilities and the use of U.N. sites to store weapons during fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

That inquiry found that Israel fired on seven U.N. schools during the 2014 Gaza war, killing 44 Palestinians who had sought shelter at some sites, while Palestinian militants hid weapons and launched attacks from several empty U.N. schools.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.