Equipo Nizkor - Letter from the Permanent Representative of Syria to the UN on the report on the implementation of the resolutions by all parties to the conflict (S/2015/962).

United Nations
Security Council

S/2015/1006

Distr.: General
30 December 2015
English
Original: Arabic

Identical letters dated 21 December 2015 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

On instructions from my Government, I should like to convey to you the position of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic regarding the twenty-second report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014) (S/2015/962).

The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms the positions that it had previously communicated in its identical letters addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council responding to the reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014), including, inter alia, the twentieth and twenty-first such reports. The report under consideration covers the period from September to November 2015. The Syrian Government would also like to stress the following points:

1. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic finds it deplorable that the report's authors have reflected the aims of certain Security Council members and complied with those members' agendas, which are hostile to Syria and its people, in order to politicize the process of renewing certain provisions of Security Council resolution 2165 (2014), a resolution that is already politicized. This is demonstrated by the inordinate emphasis they place on holding the Syrian Government primarily responsible for the failure of the United Nations to deliver humanitarian assistance to hot spots. The Government made it clear months ago that the inability of the United Nations to deliver assistance to hotspots in April and June 2015 was caused by the Organization's failure to act on more than half of the authorizations that it was granted to operate joint convoys for that purpose. It also continues to be the primary reason why the United Nations is unable to reach other areas. Other factors that hindered attempts to deliver humanitarian assistance were the lack of transparency the United Nations demonstrated at the time in its dealings with the Government concerning the operation of those convoys and the Organization's failure to notify the Government of the genuine difficulties it encountered when it attempted to act on those authorizations, so that those difficulties could have been resolved.

Paragraphs 27, 28, 31 and 51of the Secretary-General's report make it clear that United Nations humanitarian aid convoys were able to reach many hotspots, and that this happened with the cooperation of the Syrian Government and thanks to the assistance that it provided.

In that connection, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates once again that it stands ready to cooperate and coordinate with the United Nations in order to remove the obstacles and challenges that might stand in the way of humanitarian aid convoys, while taking into account the need to ensure the security and safety of humanitarian workers and to make certain that aid reaches civilian beneficiaries who have been affected by the crisis, instead of falling into the hands of terrorists.

2. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic once again denounces the authors' deliberate attempts to cover up the Organization's lack of transparency in respect of cross-border assistance and the notifications sent to the Syrian Government in that regard. The Government has clearly stated its position regarding the futility of cross-border assistance. The correctness of that position is evidenced by the authors' attempts to inflate the number of persons who have purportedly benefitted from cross-border assistance and by the fact that, in each report, the authors make a point of stating the total number of persons who have benefitted from cross-border assistance from the time that Security Council resolution 2165 (2014) was adopted up to the time the relevant report was prepared. It should be noted that the United Nations has no reliable means of determining or identifying the civilians to whom assistance is delivered, or of verifying their numbers.

3. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic stresses that the Monitoring Mechanism suffers from a serious operational and administrative flaw. The notifications sent to the Government are full of errors and incorrect or contradictory information, or are purposely missing information, including numbers of beneficiaries, the names of areas and shipment numbers. For example, notifications have incorrectly specified the areas to which assistance was to be delivered. In one instance, the United Nations notified the Government that it had delivered assistance to Izra', Dar'a governorate, through the Ramtha border crossing. When the United Nations was asked why the assistance delivered to Izra' had been brought in across the border, the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator replied that the assistance had not been destined for Izra', but rather to areas in the vicinity of that city. We are justified in wondering why there was such a lack of transparency. Can we believe what the United Nations says about cross-border assistance? Can we rely on the information provided in the notifications? Does assistance reach the areas specified in the notifications or does it end up in other areas? More importantly, does the assistance reach its rightful recipients?

4. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic stresses that lack of confidence and transparency have an adverse effect on the cooperative relationship between the Government and the United Nations, and that, in turn, has and adverse effect on the Organization's credibility and image not only in Syria, but around the world. The Syrian Government also warns that the steady monthly increase the United Nations has made in cross-border assistance and the corresponding decrease in assistance provided from inside Syria has had negative repercussions. The increase in cross-border assistance is unjustified and was made for strictly political reasons. We are even more certain that this is the case because the United Nations has no means of verifying how much of the cross-border assistance reaches its rightful recipients.

5. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic strongly rejects the authors' continued attempts to legitimize armed terrorist groups by applying various designations to them, such as "armed non-State oppositions groups", in order to circumvent the Security Council resolutions concerning counter-terrorism and please certain States Members of the United Nations. The Secretariat's efforts to that end are further demonstrated by its use of new designations for such groups, designations that have no foundation in international law or international instruments and regarding which there is no agreement among Members States. The Government also rejects the Secretariat's efforts to focus only on the ISIL terrorist organization in the reports and to exclude the Nusrah Front, which is on the list of terrorist organizations and entities maintained by the Security Council.

6. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic rejects the authors' attempts to legitimize the support that Turkey provides to armed terrorist groups (paragraph 7). Those groups, which are called "armed opposition groups" in the report, are Turkey's proxies in Syria. By using such designations, the authors are legitimizing Turkish interference in internal Syrian affairs under the pretext of combatting ISIL, an organization that would cease to exist were it not for the support of Turkey. ISIL is able to carry on because Turkey provides foreign terrorists with a safe haven and helps them infiltrate Syria in order to join ISIL. Not only does the Turkish Government facilitate the trade activities of ISIL, but some of its prominent members are helping ISIL to smuggle stolen Syrian oil and artefacts out of the country and then sell them. ISIL uses the huge profits it makes from those activities to fund its terrorist operations. One of the most prominent examples of interference in internal Syrian affairs by Turkey, as it strives to support its terrorist proxies and ensure that the terrorists prevail, is the downing by the Turkish Air Force on 24 November 2015 of a Russian warplane that was supporting the Syrian Arab Army in its war against the armed terrorist groups.

7. The Syrian Government also rejects the authors' attempts to legitimize the military operations being conducted in Syria by the so-called coalition led by the United States of America (paragraphs 12 and 15). Those operations, which blatantly violate international law, are allegedly being conducted to combat the ISIL terrorist organization. The Government also rejects the authors' attempts to equate the coalition's operations with the air cover that the Russian Air Force is providing Syrian Arab Army forces as they seek to liberate various parts of Syria from grip of the armed terrorist groups that have wrought destruction in the land. The two things could not be more different. The operations of the Russian Air Force are being conducted in response to an official request from the Syrian Government and of which the Government had informed United Nations. It is utterly wrong to claim that those forces are targeting civilians; they are, instead, targeting terrorist groups and their members, as well as their supply lines. On the other hand, the coalition is doing the opposite and is seeking to destroy the country's economic and service infrastructure.

8. The Syrian Government furthermore rejects what is set out in paragraph 16 of the report. The groups that the Syrian Government is fighting are armed terrorist groups that kill, destroy, plunder, steal and carry out abductions. They are not "armed non-State oppositions groups", as described in the report. How can those armed opposition groups be Syrian when they receive instructions and orders from military operations centres in neighbouring countries (paragraph 19)? Everyone is aware that those centres are staffed by intelligence personnel, including some from Israeli intelligence!

9. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic condemns the authors' deliberate failure to mention the lifeline that sustains the terrorist groups. That lifeline is provided by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other States, and runs along the same roads used by the United Nations to deliver cross-border assistance. For example, we should like to recall that, on 2 November 2015, Army of Islam terrorists used women and children as human shields in eastern Ghutah and that, on 10 November 2015, the Ahrar al-Sham terrorist group, which is linked to and allied with the Nusrah Front terrorist organization, indiscriminately fired missiles at residential neighbourhoods in the city of Ladhiqiyah, killing 23 civilians, including children and students, and injuring 50 others. Armed terrorist groups also carried out bombings in Hasakah and Homs, killing dozens of civilians and injuring hundreds of others.

10. The Syrian Government rejects the politicized approach to humanitarian issues that the authors continue to take, including their unwavering reliance on information provided by sources that are known for being politicized and hostage to the agendas of certain States, as is the case with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and its offices, which continue to rely on information provided by organizations that lack credibility and are known for being linked to armed terrorist organizations. We are therefore not surprised that the report is laced with reckless accusations against the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic.

11. In the report under consideration, the authors continue to take a negative approach to the question of delivering assistance to persons affected by the crisis and those in need of assistance. The authors also continue to ignore the role of the Syrian Government in facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance provided by the United Nations and other international organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to nearly 4 million beneficiaries every month (paragraph 24). Nonetheless, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic continues to provide every form of assistance needed to deliver humanitarian assistance to all affected civilians, without discrimination, throughout Syria and from inside Syrian territory. For example, in the period from September to November 2015, some 273,644 food parcels provided by ICRC were distributed in the majority of Syrian governorates.

12. We wish to note that the Syrian Government has specifically facilitated requests for the delivery of humanitarian assistance made by United Nations organizations and specialized agencies, including the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). These have included requests for the delivery of medical assistance to hotspots in the governorates of Homs, Idlib, Rif Dimashq and Aleppo. Approval was recently granted to UNICEF for the delivery of educational supplies, stationery and children's clothing to Mu'addamiyah in Rif Dimashq governorate on 15 November 2015.

13. In that regard, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic wishes to point out that it approved the request submitted by WHO to bring humanitarian assistance to the east of Aleppo city. However, the aid convoy was stopped by the United Nations. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has also approved the request of WHO to bring medical assistance to Nubul and Zahra' in Aleppo governorate, and to the governorates of Dayr al-Zawr and Qunaytirah.

14. The Government also helped ICRC to deliver humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance, to the Mu'addamiyah area on 12 November 2015. The Syrian Government also authorized the United Nations and ICRC to deliver humanitarian assistance to the Wa'r area of Homs city in early December. It did so after the terrorists had been expelled from the neighbourhood and the reconciliation agreement in the neighbourhood had proved successful thanks to genuine patriotic efforts towards national reconciliation.

15. Despite reservations on certain points, the Syrian Government recently collaborated with the United Nations to reach consensus on the 2016 humanitarian response plan for the Syrian Arab Republic.

16. Two thirds of the humanitarian assistance sent to Fu'ah and Kafraya after the recent agreement was looted by armed terrorist groups. Deplorably, the authors of the report once again fail to mention that fact. Nor do they address the fact that the Turkish authorities have hindered the cross-border entry of assistance intended for those two towns, or the fact that some of the assistance was spoiled after the Turkish side deliberately left it in the open, where it was exposed to rain, wind and poor weather (paragraph 27).

17. The Syrian Government deplores the lack of transparency evident in paragraph 37 concerning the reasons why the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been unable to continue its mission in the Yalda area to provide medical care to Palestine refugees who left the Yarmouk camp in early April 2015 for the areas of Yalda, Babila and Bayt Sahm. According to the information provided by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, UNRWA halted its medical campaign because of insecurity in those areas, not because the Syrian Government had failed to give its approval. Since early April 2015, the Syrian Government has facilitated the delivery of more than 45,000 food parcels, 10,000 health parcels and 9,500 containers of milk for children to Palestine refugees who left the camp. Some of that assistance was brought into Yarmouk camp by beneficiaries via Yalda. The Syrian Government also agreed to bring students out of the camp so that they could sit their primary, secondary and university examinations. The last group of students to leave the camp in order to sit examinations did so in October 2015.

18. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms that terrorism, and terrorism alone, is to blame for the setbacks encountered by the United Nations and other international agencies in delivering humanitarian assistance to hotspots in Syria. Armed terrorist groups supported by States from the region and beyond are prevalent in the affected areas. Significantly, the United Nations has been unable to deliver assistance to the towns of Nubul and Zahra', even though aid workers have been able to deliver assistance to all of the areas controlled by the armed groups. In that connection, the report is full of contradictory statements. In some instances, it indicates that humanitarian assistance was delivered to hotspots, while in others it notes that obstacles prevented access to hotspots (paragraphs 27, 28 and 36). The report also indicates that although the Syrian Government had given its approval, there were other factors preventing United Nations aid convoys from reaching hotspots, namely the security situation in the field.

19. As regards paragraph 38 of the report, the Syrian Government stresses that it has continued to cooperate with the United Nations side, specifically the World Food Programme, to overcome any obstacles that impeded the smooth flow of humanitarian assistance across the Syrian-Lebanese border or through Syrian ports. The United Nations entities and specialized agencies are expected to comply with certain requirements regarding certificates of origin and health certificates; but those conditions are in place in order to safeguard public health in Syria and the country's economic resources. The procedures are intended to ensure that humanitarian assistance complies with national and international standards, and that those standards are enforced by United Nations and other international entities, such as UNRWA, ICRC and the public and private sectors in Syria.

20. The vast majority of requests for entry and residence visas for the Syrian Arab Republic have received a positive response. More than 97 per cent of such requests had been approved as at 30 November 2015. There was only one case in which the United Nations was informed that a visa request had been declined. The meaningless talk of bureaucracy shows that certain United Nations officials have no respect for the procedures that States have adopted in order to handle matters that are important, indeed necessary, for the maintenance of their sovereignty and security.

21. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has already stated that it is committed to providing the necessary assistance to international non-governmental organizations in Syria. It now wishes to reaffirm that commitment. In order to promote those organizations' efforts to serve Syrians affected by the crisis in the country, the Syrian Government recently responded to a number of proposals submitted by the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Syria, and has informed him accordingly.

22. Lastly, we wish to address the Secretary-General's comments regarding the continuation of the crisis in Syria, the suffering inflicted on civilians as a result, and the waves of displaced persons who are leaving Syria. Before the crisis, Syria and its citizens enjoyed security, stability and dignity. However, certain States began using terrorists to shatter that stability. States in the region and beyond supported the terrorists with weapons, materiel, ammunition, criminals and intelligence and logistical support, thereby reversing the situation. Syrian civilians are suffering because of terrorism. They are being indiscriminately bombarded by armed terrorist groups -- referred to in the report as "armed non-State opposition groups" -- that are targeting defenceless residential areas and the economic and service infrastructure. The groups are using various forms of projectiles that have indiscriminate effects, including rockets, "hellfire" cannons, explosive gas cylinders and other locally made missiles. They also use explosive missiles and TOW missiles, the sources of which are well known to all.

23. In its statement of 9 November 2015, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic stressed that it had not used weapons with indiscriminate effects in its ongoing efforts to eliminate terrorism and restore security and stability to the country. The references to such incidents in the report are based on unreliable and politicized sources fulfilling the agendas of foreign States supportive of the armed groups in Syria. The only parties to have used such weapons are the armed terrorist groups, whether "moderate" or immoderate.

24. The reason why the humanitarian crisis has escalated is that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France and the United States of America have been supporting the armed groups in Syria. These difficult conditions have been made all the more difficult by the unilateral coercive economic and financial measures that certain States have imposed in order to punish the Syrian people for standing by the Government that it chose for itself, for combating international terrorism and for defending security, peace and the nation in the face of terrorism, which is directed not only against Syria, but the world at large. It is worth reminding the Secretariat that the unilateral coercive economic measures have prevented Syrians from importing emergency vehicles, supplies, medical equipment, spare parts and other resources, vaccinations, medicine and its components, not to mention the building materials that are needed in order to rebuild the hospitals and clinics destroyed by the armed terrorist groups. In order to preserve humanitarian efforts, we hope that the Secretariat will intervene and prevail on those States that imposed the unilateral coercive economic and financial measures to rescind them swiftly.

25. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic will continue to fulfil its duty towards its citizens in full respect for its constitutional responsibilities, in order to meet the aspirations of the Syrian people.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex issued as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Bashar Ja'afari
Ambassador
Permanent Representative

Annex I

Crimes committed by ISIL, the Nusrah Front, the Free Army, the Army of Islam, the Army of Conquest and other armed terrorist groups ignored by the authors of the report

I. October 2015

In the period 21 October to 21 November 2015, terrorists killed 160 civilians, including 43 children, and injured 492 civilians, including 107 children, across the governorates of Syria, not including Raqqah.
On 4 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to Nusrah Front indiscriminately fired rocket attacks at the village of Ta'unah and the town of Kurnaz in Hama governorate, injuring dozens of civilians and causing material damage.
On 5 October 2015, a car bomb exploded near the Syrian Arab Red Crescent post in the Zahra' quarter in Homs city, killing a civilian and injuring 24 others.
On 6 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield indiscriminately fired shells and gas cylinders at the residential neighbourhoods of A'zamiyah and Shahba' in Aleppo governorate. 16 civilians, including women and children, sustained various injuries and material damage was caused.
On 4, 5 and 6 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the terrorist organization Nusrah Front indiscriminately fired shells and rockets at Ba'th city and the town of Khan Arnabah, killing and injuring civilians and causing material damage.On 8 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Army of Islam and the Rahman Corps stationed in the farms of Duma fired mortar shells at Damascus Central Prison in Adra, causing various injuries to 27 prisoners and material damage to the buildings.
On 11 October 2012, armed terrorist groups from the Army of Islam and the Rahman Corps indiscriminately fired mortar shells at the residential neighbourhoods of Qassa' and Bab Tuma in Damascus city, killing a child and injuring other civilians, and causing material damage. In Hama governorate, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Nusrah Front indiscriminately fired rocket at the town of Khunayfis, killing a girl, injuring five other children and causing material damage.
On 14 October 2015, armed terrorist groups from the Army of Islam, the Rahman Corps and the Nusrah Front located in the Jawbar neighbourhood in eastern Ghutah indiscriminately fired at the Mazzah, Abbasiyin, Rawdah and Tadamun neighbourhoods of Damascus, causing various injuries to nine civilians and material damage to property.
On 14 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Bustan al-Qasr and Old Aleppo neighbourhoods directed sniper fire and indiscriminately fired rockets and gas cylinder missiles at the Sayf al-Dawlah, Aziziyah, Mushariqah and Bab al-Faraj neighbourhoods of Aleppo city. Six civilians were killed; 24 others, including women and children, sustained various injuries; and significant material damage was caused.
On 19 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the terrorist organization ISIL located in the villages of Southern Mushayrifah and Umm Suhayrij in Homs governorate indiscriminately fired Grad missiles at the villages of Upper and Lower Mukharram, killing and injuring 16 civilians, including women and children, and causing material damage.
On 20 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Nusrah Front located in Dar'a al-Balad indiscriminately shelled suburb II of Dar'a city, killing three children and injuring seven civilians, six of whom were children.
On 22 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Nusrah Front and the Free Syrian Army at locations in the countryside north of Homs indiscriminately fired six Grad rockets at the residential areas of Muhajirin, Abbasiyah and Zahra' in Homs city. Some 15 civilians, including women and children, were killed or injured, and material damage was caused.
On 22 and 24 October 2015, armed terrorists belonging to the Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Bani Zayd neighbourhood and Subayhah village in Aleppo governorate indiscriminately fired gas cylinders and various other missiles at the neighbourhoods of Nile Street and Safirah. Seven civilians were killed; 13 others, including women and children, sustained shrapnel wounds; and significant material damage was caused.
On 23 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Nusrah Front in the town of Dayr Qanun detonated the water pipe at the Barada source feeding the Fijah source, both of which provide drinking water for Damascus city and Rif Dimashq.
On 25 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Army of Islam, the Rahman Corps and the Nusrah Front located in the parks of Duma and Harasta in Rif Dimashq governorate indiscriminately fired mortar shells at the shelter in the Wafidin camp and at Damascus Central Prison. Four civilians were killed, 15 others were injured and material damage was caused.
On 30 October 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to ISIL around the towns of Nubul and Zahra' indiscriminately fired missiles at the two towns, killing or injuring 11 civilians and causing material damage.

II. November 2015

In the period 21 September to 21 October 2015, terrorists killed 161civilians, including 39 children, and injured 451 civilians, including 91 children, across the governorates of Syria, not including Raqqah, Idlib and Dayr al-Zawr.
On 1 November 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells the Qusur area of Damascus, killing one female child and injuring one other child.
On 3 November 2015, the so-called Army of Islam, which is led by the terrorist Zahran Allush, took civilians who had been abducted (some of whom had been taken from Adra al -'Ummaliyah) and were being held in his private prisons, and placed them in the streets of Duma city and atop buildings located near where his armed terrorists were posted, in order to use them as human shields.
On 4 November 2015, groups of armed terrorists belonging to the Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Bani Zayd and Bab al-Hadid neighbourhoods of Aleppo city indiscriminately fired gas cylinders at the residential neighbourhoods of Bab al-Faraj and Sabil. Thirteen civilians were killed or injured, including women and children, and significant material damage was caused to property in both neighbourhoods.
On 5 and 6 November 2015, groups of armed terrorist belonging to the so-called Army of Islam, the Mercy Corps and the Nusrah Front located in the parks of Duma and Harasta indiscriminately fired mortar shells at the Asad residential suburb in Harasta and at the area of the shelters in the Wafidin camp, injuring 11 civilians, including women and children, and causing material damage.
On 6 November 2015, groups of armed terrorist belonging to the Nusrah Front located in the vicinity of Yadudah, Dar'a governorate, indiscriminately fired mortar shells at the Dahiyah neighbourhood of Dar'a city, killing and injuring civilians and causing material damage.
On 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 November 2015, groups of armed terrorist groups belonging to the Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Bani Zayd neighbourhood carried out sniper attacks and indiscriminately fired mortar shells and gas cylinders at the neighbourhoods of Maysalun, Salah al-Din, Masakin al-Sabil, Bab al-Faraj, Ashrafiyah, Nile Street, Siryan al-Jadidah, A'zamiyah, Maydan and Jamiliyah, killing 6 civilians and wounding 58 others, including women and children, and causing material damage.
On 8 November 2015, groups armed terrorists belonging to the Nusrah Front located in village of Aydun fired a mortar shell at the village of Khunayfis, killing and injuring a number of civilians.
On 8 November 2015, armed terrorist groups detonated three explosive devices simultaneously in Homs city. The explosions, which occurred in the residential neighbourhoods of Wadi al-Dhahab and Akramah, injured 14 civilians, including women and children, and caused material damage.
On 8, 10 and 11 November 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Army of Islam, the Rahman Corps and the Nusrah Front located in the Jawbar neighbourhood, eastern Ghutah, the parks of Duma, and Harasta indiscriminately fired mortar shells at the residential Damascus neighbourhoods of Kafr Susah, Umayyad Square, Abbasiyin, Abu Rummanah, Bab Tuma, Baghdad Street, Adawi and Arnus, killing and injuring 18 civilians, including women and children, and causing material damage. The terrorists also indiscriminately fired mortar shells and rockets at the Asad residential suburb in Harasta, the fired brigade and the Iskan residential suburb, killing and injuring 15 civilians, including women and children, and causing material damage.
On 11 November 2015, groups of armed terrorist belonging to the Nusrah Front located in the countryside north of Ladhiqiyah city indiscriminately fired missiles at that city's residential neighbourhoods, killing 20 civilians and injuring 55 others, and causing material damage to public and private property.
On 13 November 2015, mortar shells struck a bus belonging to a school for students with special needs located in the Shaykh Ruslan area of Damascus, injuring eight civilians, including six children.
On 14 November 2015, groups of armed terrorists belonging to the Nusrah Front located in Talbisah indiscriminately fired rockets at the village of Mukhtariyah, Homs governorate, killing three civilians.
On 18 November 2015, groups of armed terrorists belonging to the Nusrah Front and the Army of Conquest located in the area of Kafr Zayta, Hama governorate, indiscriminately fired a rocket at the village of Buraydaj in Homs Governorate, killing and injuring five children.
On 20 November 2015, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Army of Islam, the Rahman Corps and the Nusrah Front located in the Jawbar neighbourhood and eastern Ghutah indiscriminately fired mortar shells at the residential neighbourhoods of Zablatani, Abbasiyin, Qassa', Qusur, Baghdad Street, Adawi, Baramikah and Ush al-Wurur, as well as the Engineering Faculty of Damascus University, killing 5 civilians and injuring 40 others. The attack also caused material damage. Those armed groups also indiscriminately fired mortar shells at the neighbourhood of Jaramana, killing three civilians and wounding 10 others.

Annex II

Examples of humanitarian assistance that was delivered during October and November 2015 thanks to the facilitation provided by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations and other international organizations, in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Also listed is assistance delivered by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent

Assistance delivered in October 2015

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid (food and non-food aid and medical assistance), provided from inside Syrian territory by United Nations organizations, to various governorates, including Rif Dimashq, Qunaytirah, Hasakah, Aleppo and Dar'a, but not to Raqqah or Dayr al-Zawr governorates. Some 1,828,660 Syrian beneficiaries (365,732 families) received food parcels provided by WFP through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Some 2,064,755 beneficiaries (412,951 families) received food parcels provided by the United Nations through non-governmental organizations. The total number of the beneficiaries of United Nations assistance distributed from inside Syrian territory thus stands at 3,893,415 (778,683 families). The above-mentioned assistance was distributed to the governorates as follows: 65,713 parcels in Rif Dimashq; 26,171 parcels in Dar'a and its countryside; 5,794 parcels in Qunaytirah; 27,660 parcels in Aleppo and its countryside; and 14,739 parcels in Hasakah.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross from inside Syrian territory to most governorates, including Rif Dimashq, Idlib, Dar'a, Qunaytirah and Aleppo. A total of 128,250 food parcels were delivered. An additional 29,022 food parcels provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies were distributed in Homs, Damascus, Rif Dimashq and Aleppo governorates.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid (food and non-food aid and medical assistance) provided by foreign non-governmental organizations operating in Syria to Aleppo, Hasakah, Rif Dimashq, Dar'a, Qunaytirah, Damascus, Homs, Hama, Suwayda', Tartus and Ladhiqiyah governorates, benefiting tens of thousands of families.
The Syrian Government renewed its approval for WFP to bring humanitarian assistance through the Nusaybin crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, in order to allow 48,484 food rations, 20 tons of peanut butter and 32,000 sacks of flour to be brought into Hasakah governorate and distributed to beneficiaries in October 2015.

Assistance delivered in November 2015

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid (food and non-food aid and medical assistance), provided from inside Syrian territory by United Nations organizations, to various governorates, including Rif Dimashq, Qunaytirah, Hasakah, Aleppo and Dar'a, but not to Raqqah or Dayr al-Zawr. Some 1,849,800 Syrian beneficiaries (369,960) received food parcels provided by WFP through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Some 827,421 beneficiaries (165,484 families) received food parcels provided by the United Nations through non-governmental organizations. The total number of the beneficiaries of United Nations assistance distributed from inside Syrian territory thus stands at 2,677,221 (535,444 families). The above-mentioned assistance was distributed to the governorates as follows: 65,721 parcels in Rif Dimashq; 27,170 parcels in Dar'a and its countryside; 35,193 parcels in Hamah and its countryside; 62,428 parcels in Aleppo and its countryside; and 3,479 parcels in Hasakah.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross from inside Syrian territory to most governorates, including Rif Dimashq, Dar'a, Qunaytirah, Aleppo, Hama, Suwayda' and Tartus. The total number of parcels distributed was 64,671. An additional 13,185 food parcels provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies were distributed in Homs, Damascus and Aleppo governorates.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian assistance (food and non-food aid and medical assistance) provided by foreign non-governmental organizations operating in Syria to thousands of families. That assistance was distributed in the majority of governorates.
The Syrian Government renewed its approval for WFP to bring humanitarian assistance through the Nusaybin crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, in order to allow 48,434 food rations and 20 tons of peanut butter to be brought into Hasakah governorate and distributed to beneficiaries in November 2015.

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30Dec15

Letter from the Permanent Representative of Syria to the UN on the report on the implementation of the resolutions by all parties to the conflict (S/2015/962)