The UN’s Commission of Inquiry for Syria (COI) says it received reports that opposition fighters are blocking civilians from fleeing Aleppo and using them as human shields.
In a statement, the COI says it has “allegations of opposition groups… preventing civilians from leaving as well as opposition fighters embedding themselves within the civilian population, thus heightening the risk to civilians of being killed or injured.”
It specifically implicates al-Qaeda’s former affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front and the powerful Ahrar al-Sham rebel group.
Syrian pro-government forces advance in the Jisr al-Haj neighborhood of Aleppo during the ongoing operation to retake remaining rebel-held areas in the city on December 14, 2016. (AFP PHOTO/George OURFALIAN)
The COI also notes grave allegations leveled against pro-government forces in Aleppo, including “summary executions, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and forced conscription.”
The commission says Assad’s government is now in “effective control” of eastern Aleppo, and therefore has “primary responsibility” for ensuring that violations in the city are stopped.
— AFP
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