Equipo Nizkor - UNSC S/2016/433 - Information by the High Negotiations Committee for the Syrian National Coalition on two massacres of civilians perpetrated on 05May16 by the Assad regime.

United Nations
Security Council

S/2016/433

Distr.: General
11 May 2016
Original: English

Letter dated 6 May 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a letter dated 6 May 2016 from the Special Representative of the Syrian National Coalition to the United Nations, Najib Ghadbian (see annex).

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

(Signed) Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi
Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 6 May 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

On behalf of the High Negotiations Committee for the Syrian National Coalition and as requested by the General Coordinator of the Committee, Riad Hijab, it is my honour to transmit to you a letter dated 6 May 2016 from Mr. Hijab (see enclosure).

(Signed) Najib Ghadbian
Special Representative of the Syrian National Coalition
to the United Nations

Enclosure

[Original: Arabic]

Further to my previous letters regarding massacres perpetrated by the Syrian regime against defenceless civilians, it is with the utmost sorrow and sadness, mingled with extreme pain and outrage, that I inform you of two new massacres committed by the Assad regime and the Russian Air Force on Thursday, 5 May 2016, in the village of Umm Karamil in the city of Aleppo and Kamunah camp in the city of Idlib.

More than 30 people were killed and 125 injured at the Kamunah displaced persons camp in the city of Idlib when the camp was attacked by Russian aircraft. More than 12 people were killed and 20 injured in the village of Umm Karamil in the city of Aleppo when Assad regime helicopters dropped seven barrel bombs on the homes of defenceless civilians.

The Assad regime, along with Russia, Iran and allied mercenary militias, have violated the cessation of hostilities agreement continuously from the day that it entered into force. Today, following the renewal of the agreement, they continue to commit serious violations, which only confirms our view that for the agreement to be of any benefit, monitoring and accountability mechanisms must be created to ensure its implementation.

What has been happening is grounds for both consternation and condemnation. The quantitative and qualitative savagery and lunacy of the killing and destruction, combined with the deafening silence on the part of the United Nations, raise numerous questions.

The preceding is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the daily crimes being perpetrated by the regime and its allies. The regime has surrounded Hama Central Prison after cutting off water, electricity and food, and is mobilizing mechanized forces in preparation for overrunning it and killing everyone inside. All the inmates are prisoners of conscience who were arrested and forcibly disappeared after the peaceful protests in Syria began in 2011.

We hold the regime and its allies responsible for every drop of blood that has or will be spilt, and for the consequences of this out-of-control spiral, which will have extremely dangerous regional and international implications if this silence on the part of the Security Council and the international community continues.

We renew our call on the Security Council to intervene immediately to ensure the safety of detainees in Hama Central Prison and to stop the daily murder being committed by Assad's forces and their allies. The Security Council should enforce its resolutions on achieving a political transition in Syria, in accordance with resolution 2254 (2015) and other resolutions, and should compel the regime to comply with the cessation of hostilities agreement, cease its indiscriminate bombing of civilians, allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance to persons in need, lift the blockade of besieged regions and towns, free detainees and disclose the fates of disappeared persons. That would pave the way for the resumption of negotiations towards the desired political transition.

(Signed) Riad Hijab
General Coordinator, High Negotiations Committee

Appendix I

The Kamunah camp massacre

Regime warplanes carried out several attacks against the Kamunah displaced persons camp, near the city of Sarmada in the Idlib countryside, slaughtering the civilians who had taken shelter there, the majority of whom were from the town of Anadan in the Idlib countryside.

Initial estimates indicate that more than 30 persons were killed and a large number were injured. Those numbers are expected to rise because of the large fires that broke out among the refugees' tents and because rescue teams have not yet been able to reach the victims.

Number of dead: 30 civilians
Number of injured: 125 civilians
Victims' names: unidentified civilians

Appendix II

The Umm Karamil massacre, Aleppo

In the evening of 5 May 2016, regime warplanes committed yet another massacre.

Regime helicopters dropped more than six barrel bombs on the town of Umm Karamil in the southern countryside of Aleppo, causing a horrific massacre of civilians in which more than 12 persons were killed and some 20 others were injured. Those numbers are expected to rise because some victims remained trapped under rubble, while some of the wounded are in critical condition.

Number of dead: 12 civilians

Number of injured: 20 civilians

Victims' names:

1. Muhammad Abdulhilal al-Muhaymid (civilian)
2. Walid al-Tu'mah (civilian)
3. Adnan Abdulhilal (civilian)
4. Ahmad al-Husayn (60-year-old civilian)
5. Husayn al-Khalaf (24 -year-old civilian)
6. Adan Muhammad Hilal (civilian)
7 to 12: unidentified civilians

Video links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc1msumXDfw

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11May16

Information by the High Negotiations Committee for the Syrian National Coalition on two massacres of civilians perpetrated on 05May16 by the Assad regime