Equipo Nizkor - UNSC S/2016/645 - Position of the Syrian Government regarding the 29th report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014) and 2258 (2015).

United Nations
Security Council

S/2016/645 |*|

Distr.: General
29 July 2016
English
Original: Arabic

Identical letters dated 25 July 2016 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 the position of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic regarding the twenty-ninth report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014) and 2258 (2015) (S/2016/631).

The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms the positions it has previously raised in its identical letters 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), 2191(2014) and 2258 (2015). It would also like to stress the following points:

1. The Syrian Government rejects the report's failure to acknowledge the Government's right to defend its people from terrorism, particularly terrorism perpetrated by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Nusrah Front and organizations associated with them, and its right to purge those armed terrorist groups from its territory, including from Aleppo governorate, in accordance with international law.

By attempting to distort Syria's counter-terrorism efforts, the Secretariat has yet again shown that it is biased and is politicizing humanitarian work in order to serve the political interests of certain countries in the region and in the West. The Syrian Government reiterates that its efforts are aimed primarily at lifting the siege of Aleppo governorate by armed terrorist groups, a major focus of the Secretary-General's report, and ending years of humanitarian suffering owing to the fact that armed terrorist groups have spread in that governorate and have used civilians as human shields and committed other horrifying terrorist crimes against civilians. The Syrian Government notes that the Secretariat's unjustified exaggerations when discussing certain situations could worsen the city's humanitarian crisis and cause more civilians to fall victim to crimes and attacks by armed terrorist groups.

2. The Syrian Government is once again surprised at the information sources used by the Secretariat to form its biased positions against the Syrian Government. That information is intentionally misleading and stains the image of the Syrian Government. In particular, in paragraphs 4, 5 and 8 of the report, the Secretariat intentionally avoids mentioning terrorist incidents and crimes; indeed, it turns the facts upside down. In Darayya, to take only one example, armed individuals are the ones who waged attacks on the Syrian army on the dates mentioned, and the entry of humanitarian aid convoys created a breach in the field which triggered a reaction from Syrian Arab Army forces, leading to deaths and injuries within the ranks of the Syrian Army.

The Syrian Government deplores the Secretariat's continued dependence in its reports on distorted information from unreliable and politicized sources, such as reports of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which allow the Secretariat to pretend that it is truthfully conveying what is taking place in Syria and enumerating the civilian losses. But, in fact, OHCHR was able to cover only one example of the suffering borne daily by civilians during the shelling and bombing by the armed terrorist groups against residential neighbourhoods in Aleppo. OHCHR also tries to absolve the armed terrorist groups stationed in parts of Aleppo, such as the Nur al-Din al-Zanki movement, the Nusrah Front, the Army of Conquest, Ahrar al-Sham and others, from responsibility for the deaths of dozens of civilians, including women and children. The Syrian Government therefore rejects the report's attempts to cast doubt on the information provided by the Government regarding the numbers of victims of terrorist attacks in the month of June, as in paragraph 9.

The Syrian Government would very much like for the Secretariat to provide credible reports that convey the truth of and the reasons behind the worsening humanitarian situation in Syria. To this end, the Syrian Government regularly provides the Secretariat with up-to-date, substantiated information on humanitarian developments in Syria.

3. The Syrian Government rejects the Secretariat's persistent attempts to burnish the image of the armed terrorist groups by calling them the "non-State armed opposition" as in paragraphs 4, 7, 8 and 9. The Secretariat has failed to respond to our previous queries on the international legal text that justifies referring to the Nusrah Front, for instance, a terrorist group that is included in the Security Council's lists of individuals, entities and groups linked to Al-Qaida, and is the backbone of the so-called "Army of Conquest" in Idlib, as the "non-State armed opposition", as the report does in paragraph 13. Accordingly, none of the information supplied by the Secretariat concerning this subject can be taken seriously. It is misleading and encourages armed terrorist organizations and the States that support them to continue their crimes against the Syrian people. The Syrian Government also deplores the fact that, in paragraph 44, for example, the Secretariat fails to name the terrorist organizations that separate families, force other families to flee, and recruit children into their ranks in regions where such organizations are active.

4. The Syrian Government is surprised by the Secretariat's failure in paragraph 7 to mention that the United Nations has described ISIL and the Nusrah Front as terrorist organizations. It is also surprised that the Secretariat attempts to avoid a detailed description of the ongoing battle between the two terrorist groups in Yarmouk camp, which is besieged from within by those groups.

5. The Syrian Government condemns the Secretariat's attempts, for example, in paragraph 12, to whitewash and promote the operations carried out by the aircraft of the so-called international coalition led by the United States of America. It also condemns the wilful ignoring of the aerial bombardment of civilians and the resulting death and massive destruction to infrastructure. The United States has acknowledged those facts, but the report still spouts lies about the Syrian air force's attack on ISIL and Nusrah Front terrorists and on groups linked to them and to Al-Qaida.

6. The Syrian Government is saddened by the selective approach followed in the report, which departs from humanitarian principles. The report shines a spotlight on the suffering of Syrians in certain areas but not in others. This clearly shows that the Secretariat is not paying necessary heed to the deteriorating living conditions and health conditions of the towns of Kafraya and Fu'ah which have been facing starvation, thirst and a lack of medicine for months, not to mention daily indiscriminate shelling from the armed terrorist groups laying siege to them. The Secretariat also neglects to mention that those groups have prevented the United Nations humanitarian evaluation interest group from entering the towns for several months.

7. The Syrian Government strongly condemns the Secretariat's wilful and repeated disregard of the catastrophic humanitarian repercussions of the ongoing unilateral and coercive economic measures imposed by the United States, the European Union and some Arab States on the key economic sectors that provide for Syrians' daily needs and strengthen their resolve, such as health, education, energy, food and water. As some Secretariat officials have acknowledged, those measures have had an adverse effect on the humanitarian work done by the Syrian Government, civil society associations and international, United Nations and other international entities, and foreign non-governmental organizations working in Syria. The Secretariat must address the impact of such measures on the humanitarian situation in Syria, as it lies at the heart of its mandate.

8. The Syrian Government reiterates its position that cross-border assistance is futile, and condemns once more the Secretariat's insistence on covering up the fact that assistance continues to fall into the hands of armed terrorist groups in the targeted areas, without interruption. The notifications sent to the Syrian Government do not meet the minimum standard of credibility in terms of figures, information, numbers of beneficiaries and particulars on which parties collect and distribute the aid. The Syrian Government also rejects the Secretariat's attempts to inflate the number of aid beneficiaries into the millions in areas where the population, including children, is merely in the thousands, and reiterates that the United Nations monitoring mechanism cannot verify that cross-border assistance is reaching its rightful beneficiaries. We remind you that the Bab al-Hawa, Bab al-Salamah and Ramtha crossings are entry points for arms, materiel and ammunition being smuggled to armed terrorist groups in Syria. The Syrian Government has already confirmed that the Syrian Arab Red Crescent is prepared to monitor the arrival of humanitarian assistance to its beneficiaries, but the United Nations is unable to respond.

9. The Syrian Government objects to the report's inclusion of outdated information regarding requests filed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to deliver medical assistance to a number of areas in Syria. From the beginning of 2016 to date, the Syrian Government has approved 12 WHO requests, not just six. The most recent was for the delivery of medical assistance to the Hamah area. The Syrian Government withheld approval for several WHO requests because armed terrorist groups were deployed in the target areas and it was impossible to guarantee the security and safety of humanitarian staff. The Syrian Government is surprised that the Secretariat should fail to mention the facilities provided by the Syrian Government for the nationwide vaccination campaign that covered all the Syrian governorates. Meanwhile, the armed terrorist groups are undermining the vaccination plan agreed to by WHO and the Syrian Government by preventing vaccination efforts in many parts of the country.

10. The Syrian Government reiterates that the authors of the report ignore the fact that successes achieved in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to beneficiaries in both stable and unstable parts of Syria, most recently in June 2016 (as detailed in paragraphs 29, 32 and 45), would not have been possible without the assistance and facilities provided by the Syrian Government. In that regard, we note that the Syrian Government informed the United Nations of its approval for the June 2016 plan to deliver humanitarian assistance to unstable areas, which covered 88 areas containing 1,379,453 civilians affected by the armed terrorist groups, according to official counts.

11. The Syrian Government regrets that the Secretariat is not explicit about the responsibility of what some call "the moderates" for the obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery to many of the areas where they are deployed or which they are besieging. For instance, those groups have cut off water, electricity and other essential services to Syrian civilians in Aleppo governorate (paragraph 35). The Secretariat also fails to mention the reason why the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been unable to deliver assistance to Palestinian refugees displaced from Yarmuk camp to Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham, which is that armed terrorist groups belonging to ISIL, Ahrar al-Sham and the Army of Islam issued a declaration stating that they are the only parties authorized to supervise aid distribution and receive assistance convoys entering Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham (paragraph 36).

The authors of the report also neglect to mention the main reason for shortages of electricity and drinking water among the besieged population of Aleppo, which is that "international coalition" aircraft bombed the Ridwaniyah power plant several months ago, putting it out of service. Those same aircraft and the armed terrorist groups have also bombed and destroyed water treatment facilities.

12. The Syrian Government rejects the authors' reference to what they call a lack of agreement between the parties of the Four Towns ceasefire agreement covering Zabadani, Madaya, Fu'ah and Kafraya (paragraph 38). In actual fact, the handlers behind the terrorists who are besieging the towns of Fu'ah and Kafraya are the reason that no agreement has been reached. The Syrian Government has informed the office of the Resident Coordinator in writing that it has approved access to Zabadani and Madaya.

13. The Syrian Government once again condemns the Secretariat's continued bias in favour of the Turkish Government to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Hasakah governorate, who have been affected by the closing of the Nusaybin border crossing. The Turkish Government has stubbornly refused to approve United Nations requests to bring humanitarian assistance into that governorate via that crossing. The Syrian Government reiterates that it is not true that the crossing has been closed temporarily since December 2015 — almost eight months — owing to security reasons (paragraph 40). The closure is in fact due to political reasons that are well known, and is intended to increase the suffering of Syrian civilians under siege by both armed terrorist groups (notably ISIL) and the Turkish Government in those areas. In that regard, the Syrian Government condemns the reluctance of the United Nations, certain Security Council members and certain members of the International Syria Support Group to make any effort to pressure the Turkish Government to allow assistance to enter Hasakah governorate through the Nusaybin crossing immediately. It also condemns the silence of those parties in the face of the lies being told by the representative of Turkey to the Syria Support Group in Geneva to justify his Government's inhumane behaviour.

14. The Syrian Government wishes to clarify that as of 30 June 2016, the number of visa applications for United Nations staff approved during the month of June was 26, and not 13.

15. The Syrian Government would like to point out that the United Nations has been informed of the status of a number of its local staff members who have arrested on charges of terrorism and collaboration with terrorists. They have been remanded to the competent courts. We find it odd that the United Nations should mention them as being detained. Why would the United Nations want to count among its staff members persons who are under investigation or implicated in terrorism?

16. The Syrian Government deplores the Secretariat's efforts to paint a negative picture of the work being done by foreign non-governmental organizations in Syria. The Syrian Government is providing those organizations with facilities and assistance to carry out their work, in cooperation with national partners, as effectively as possible and in a way that responds to the needs of as many affected Syrians as possible. Syria once against points out to the Secretariat that as of now, the number of foreign non-governmental organizations authorized to deliver assistance in Syria is 21, not 17 as stated in the report. The Syrian Government does not place restrictions on foreign non-governmental organizations. It merely asks them to operate in accordance with Syrian laws and regulations.

17. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms its long-standing position that the crisis in Syria requires a political solution based on dialogue among Syrians under Syrian leadership and without preconditions. It further stresses that the political approach goes hand in hand with counter-terrorism efforts, which will continue until all of the armed terrorist groups active in Syria have been eradicated. In that connection, the Syrian Government stresses that the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General needs to carry out his duties and reminds the Secretariat that the success of the political process and any significant improvement in the humanitarian situation will depend, above all, on creating a climate conducive to a serious and non-politicized international and regional commitment to fighting terrorism and on an immediate end to the unilateral coercive economic measures being imposed on the Syrian people with no legal or moral basis.

18. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates its call on the Security Council to prevail on those States that support and finance armed terrorist groups to refrain from doing so, in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions on combating terrorism and terrorist financing, particularly resolutions 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2199 (2015) and 2253 (2015). Compliance with and enforcement of those resolutions is the key to resolving the situation in Syria and delivering an unprecedented amount of humanitarian assistance to those in need in Syria.

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

(Signed) Bashar Ja'afari
Ambassador
Permanent Representative

Annex I to the identical letters dated 25 July 2016 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

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

In the period 22 May to 21 June 2016, terrorists killed 297 civilians, including 15 children, and injured 237 civilians, including 155 children, across the governorates of Syria, not including Raqqah and Idlib.
On 24 July 2016, in Damascus and Rif Dimashq, armed terrorist groups bombed the city of Damascus, targeting the Bab Tuma, Mazzah and Arnus neighbourhoods and the Harasta residential suburb, killing eight civilians, including women and children, injuring 16 civilians, some seriously, and causing significant material damage.
On 1 and 2 June 2016, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called 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, Rashidin and Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhoods, opened sniper fire and launched mortar shells and gas cylinder missiles at the Ashrafiyah, Mogambo, Assad suburb of Hamdaniyah and Fayd neighbourhoods, killing four civilians and injuring 29 others. Material damage was caused.
On 2 and 3 June 2016, in Ladhiqiyah, two shells landed in the city of Qardahah, killing one woman and injuring three other persons.
On 3 and 4 June 2016, in Ladhiqiyah, two shells landed in the city of Qardahah, killing a woman and inflicting shrapnel wounds on one man and two women and causing material damage to some buildings, shops and cars.
On 3 and 4 June, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called 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, Rashidin, Ansari and Bustan al-Basha neighbourhoods, fired mortar shells and gas cylinder missiles at the Mushariqah neighbourhood, the 1070-apartment housing project, and the Sayf al-Dawlah, Maydan and Maysalun neighbourhoods, killing two civilians and injuring 30 others. Material damage was caused.
On 5 and 6 June 2016, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called 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-Basha, Bustan al-Qasr, Bani Zayd, Rashidin and Maysar neighbourhoods, opened fired and launched mortar shells and gas cylinder missiles at the Maydan, Sulaymaniyah, Suryan al-Qadimah, Idha'ah, Hazaza, Talal, Fayd, Shahba', Hamdaniyah and Halab al-Jadidah neighbourhoods and at Aleppo International Airport Square, killing five civilians and injuring 84 others, including women and children. Material damage was caused to some buildings, shops and cars.
On 6 and 7 June 2016, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called 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-Basha neighbourhood, fired gas cylinder missiles at the Maydan and Hamdaniyah neighbourhoods, injuring two persons with shrapnel. Material damage was caused to some buildings, shops and cars.
On 9, 10 and 11 June, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called 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, Bustan al-Qasr, Bab al-Hadid, Layramun, Rashidin and Bustan al-Basha neighbourhoods, fired gas cylinder missiles at the Ashrafiyah neighbourhood, near the Basil roundabout, and at the Aziziyah, Jamiliyah, Maysalun, Sharafiyah and Jam'iyat al-Zahra' neighbourhoods, killing eight civilians and injuring 23 others. Material damage was caused.
On 11 and 12 June 2016, in Rif Dimashq, the terrorist organization Islamic ISIL detonated a Mitsubishi double-cab pickup truck with three suicide bombers on board. The first bomber blew himself up with an explosive vest in front of the checkpoint, killing one soldier and injuring two others. This enabled the pickup truck to cross the barrier at speed and enter Tin Street (a popular market teeming with people), killing 13 civilians, mainly women and children, injuring 60 others with shrapnel and causing significant material damage.
On 13, 14, 15 and 16 June 2016, in the city of Aleppo, 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 fired gas cylinder missiles at the Khalidiyah, Furqan, A'zamiyah, Jam'iyat al-Zahra' and Maydan neighbourhoods and near the cafeteria in the public garden, killing one person and injuring 24 others, including women and children. Material damage was caused to some buildings, shops and cars.
On 16 and 17 June 2016, in the city of Rif Dimashq, an armed terrorist group detonated an explosive device on the 36-inch Arab gas pipeline, which passes through the town of Jayrud, Nasiriyah and Jabal al-Batra and feeds the southern region and power plants in Nasiriyah, Tishrin and Dayr. The detonation took place in the region of block valve 6007 opposite the Nasiriyah mill in Jayrud, which is controlled by terrorist groups, and damaged the pipeline, cutting off the supply of gas. The terrorist groups in the region prevented maintenance teams from repairing the gas pipeline, despite the intervention of local elders.
On 20, 21, 23 and 24 June, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called 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, Bustan al-Qasr and Bustan al-Basha neighbourhoods, directed sniper fire and launched mortar shells and gas cylinder missiles at the Khalidiyah neighbourhood, the area around the traffic branch, and the Mushariqah, Bustan al-Zahrah and Maydan neighbourhoods, injuring 19 civilians, including three children and two women. Material damage was caused.
On 24 and 25 June 2016, in the city of Rif Dimashq, an unidentified armed terrorist group in the town of Masharah in Qunaytirah governorate, fired 13 rockets at the towns of Durin and Birkat al-Dam in the district of Sa'sa', killing one child and injuring two women. Material damage was caused to some houses.
On 23 and 24 June 2016, in Ladhiqiyah, a car exploded at the new Jablah departure terminal. Two suicide bombers then blew themselves up in front of the entrance to the Jablah electricity department and the Tadamun-Fawwar junction and another suicide bomber blew himself up at the Jablah National Hospital, killing 125 civilians and injuring others. Extensive material damage was caused and the hospital was taken out of service.
On 25 and 26 June 2016, in Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the 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 fired gas cylinder missiles at the Hamdaniyah, Khalidiyah, Salah al-Din and A'zamiyah neighbourhoods, killing four civilians and injuring 12 others with shrapnel. Material damage was caused to some buildings. Those groups also directed sniper fire and launched gas cylinder missiles at the Bab al-Faraj, Ramusah, Nile Street, Hamdaniyah, Halab al-Jadidah and Maydan neighbourhoods, killing four people, of whom two were women and two were children, and injuring 15 civilians with shrapnel, including women and children. Material damage was caused to some buildings, shops and cars.
On 25 and 26 June 2016, in Dayr al-Zawr, armed terrorist groups belonging to ISIL opened fire and launched mortar shells at the Harabish and Huwayqah neighbourhoods, injuring two men and two women and causing material damage to buildings and shops.
On 29 June 2016, in Dayr al-Zawr, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called ISIL organization fired eight mortar shells at the Harabish neighbourhood of the city, killing a girl and injuring a woman and a child. ISIL terrorist groups also fired five missiles at the Qusur neighbourhood, killing four people and injuring three others with shrapnel.

Annex II to the identical letters dated 25 July 2016 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

Examples of humanitarian assistance that was delivered during June 2016 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, in addition to the assistance provided by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, with the full facilitation of the Syrian Government, delivered humanitarian aid (food and non-food aid and medical assistance), provided from inside Syrian territory by United Nations agencies, to various governorates, including Rif Dimashq, Aleppo, Qunaytirah, Hasakah, Homs, Hama and Dar'a. Some 1,670,000 Syrian beneficiaries (382,000 families) received food parcels provided by the World Food Programme through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Some 1,311,904 beneficiaries received food parcels provided by the United Nations through national non-governmental organizations. The total number of the beneficiaries of United Nations assistance distributed from inside Syrian territory thus stands at 2,981,904 (596,381 families). The above-mentioned assistance was distributed to the governorates by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent as follows: 103,730 parcels in Rif Dimashq; 19,850 parcels in Dar'a and its countryside; 71,100 parcels in Aleppo and its countryside; 161 parcels in Hasakah; 41,200 parcels in Hama and its countryside; 68,200 parcels in Homs and its countryside; 12,490 parcels in Suwayda'; 64,749 parcels in Damascus; 28,000 parcels in Ladhiqiyah; 7,999 parcels in Qunaytirah; and 26,000 parcels in Tartus.
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, Qunaytirah, Aleppo, Hama and Homs. A total of 114,441 food parcels were delivered, in addition to 71,400 canned food parcels and food aid for community kitchens, for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, with the support of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, delivered humanitarian aid (food and non-food aid, medical assistance, water purifiers, wheelchairs and baby food) provided by United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and foreign non-governmental organizations in Syria to hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries in Aleppo, Rif Dimashq, Dar'a, Qunaytirah, Damascus, Homs, Hama, Suwayda', Tartus and Ladhiqiyah governorates.
From 2014 through the end of May 2016, a total of 136,982 food parcels and 42,580 medical parcels have been delivered to the inhabitants of the camp by UNRWA. That is in addition to the continuing operation to provide non-food aid, other foodstuffs, medical care and dental care. We also note that the Palestine refugees in Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham are inhabitants of Yarmouk camp who were displaced from the camp after the terrorist organization ISIL overran it in April 2015 in collusion with the terrorist Nusrah Front and other terrorist groups present inside the camp. UNRWA has ceased to provide its assistance to residents of the Yarmouk refugee camp through Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham, because the armed terrorist groups inside the camp issued a statement declaring themselves to be the only bodies authorized to oversee the distribution of assistance and to receive aid convoys entering Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham.

Notes:

* Reissued for technical reasons on 9 August 2016. [Back]

29Jul16

Position of the Syrian Government regarding the 29th report of the UN Secretary-General on the implementation of SC resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014) and 2258 (2015)

Information
Bookshop \| Donate Derechos \| Equipo Nizkor