Equipo Nizkor - Position of the Syrian Governement on the 16th Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the resolutions by all parties to the Syrian conflict.

United Nations
Security Council

S/2015/488

Distr.: General
15 July 2015
English
Original: Arabic

Identical letters dated 28 June 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 sixteenth report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014) (S/2015/468).

At the outset, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic would like to reiterate the position that it has already conveyed in detail to both the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council in previous identical letters regarding the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014), and would like to stress the following points:

1. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic would like to stress that, both in the present report and its annex and in previous reports, certain parties in the Secretariat persist in trying to sell inaccurate facts and figures. The latter have been exaggerated in order to bolster claims about the great success of so-called cross-border international assistance and to deceive the Security Council and member States in pursuit of certain interests. The facts point to the opposite conclusion, which those parties are trying to conceal from the Security Council and the international community. The numbers themselves are the best proof that that is the case. According to the report of the Secretary-General, between 1 March and 31 May, which is twice as long as the period normally covered by the report as called for in Security Council resolution 2191 (2014), the United Nations claims that it delivered assistance to approximately 1.8 million beneficiaries. That figure includes a number of persons who received assistance more than once. Even then, it does not come close to the number of persons to whom the United Nations side delivered assistance from within Syria with the facilitation of the Syrian Government. Such assistance reached 3,685,876 civilian beneficiaries in March, some 3.5 million in April, and 3,163,800 in May for a total of 10,349,676 beneficiaries. That accounts for some 80 per cent of the total assistance allocated to Syria. Those figures are the best evidence that there is nothing to be gained from cross-border delivery in regions where armed terrorist organizations are prevalent. Those organizations change their names like the seasons and months of the year. The most important is the Nusrah Front, which is listed as a terrorist entity on Security Council lists. The main problem here is that the United Nations is unable to verify that cross-border assistance reaches its intended civilian recipients, who are in effect under siege by the armed terrorist groups, which the authors of the report have taken to calling "non-State armed groups" in an attempt to justify the groups' presence and their seizure of the aid, which they distribute to their members and their allies.

2. The claim by the United Nations that it has been transparent about informing the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic of the amounts, locations and numbers of recipients of cross-border assistance is patently untrue. For instance, United Nations notifications stated that assistance had been delivered from Ramtha to the city of Izra' in Dar'a governorate, and from Bab al -Hawa to Haffah, Muhradah and Suqaylibiyah; but we subsequently receive confirmation that it did not reach Izra', Haffah, Muhradah or Suqaylibiyah, but rather went to other areas. This means that the United Nations does not know exactly where that assistance is going. The same may be said of the rest of the areas to which it is claimed that cross -border assistance is being delivered. We reiterate yet again that the United Nations monitoring mechanism has to date been unable to verify that its cross-border assistance has actually been reaching affected civilians in areas where such terrorist organizations as the Nusrah Front, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and other organizations affiliated with them or with Al -Qaida are prevalent.

3. It is therefore scandalous that the United Nations is expanding the volume of its cross-border assistance at the expense of delivering assistance from inside Syria to those who really need it. That approach merely increases the risk created by the above-noted problems with cross-border assistance delivery and the inability of United Nations mechanisms to verify that assistance is reaching its intended civilian recipients in the affected areas after going through border points.

4. The authors of the report attempt to make the case that security conditions allow the United Nations to deliver assistance via the Ramtha, Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings despite the heavy presence of armed terrorist groups belonging primarily to the Nusrah Front, a terrorist group listed on the Security Council lists. At the same time, they maintain that the United Nations is unable to do so at the Ya'rubiyah crossing. The Syrian Government rejects that argument. The security conditions in Ya'rubiyah are comparable; there is a heavy ISIL presence on the Syrian side, and ISIL is also a terrorist organization included on Security Council lists. The reader has a legitimate right to wonder whether the aim is to whitewash one terrorist group, in this case the Nusrah Front, as opposed to another. The Syrian government knows how to answer that question. Do the members of the Security Council?

5. On 17 June 2015, the Syrian Government approved several new requests, including some submitted by the United Nations, for joint humanitarian assistance convoys to hotspots in Mu'addamiyah and Madaya in Rif Dimashq governorate; Hula and Tir Ma'lah in Homs governorate; and Harbnafsah, Muhradah, Suqaylibiyah, Salamiyah and Saburah in Hamah governorate. It did so even though the United Nations side had been unable to act on all of the approvals that had been granted previously on 9 April 2015 for joint humanitarian assistance convoys to hotspots including Irbin and Zamalka in Rif Dimashq and Nubul, Zahra', Afrin, Safirah and Aleppo city in Aleppo governorate.

6. All should be aware that during the months of April, May and June, the Syrian Government has helped the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to deliver humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance, to many areas classified as hotspots or hard-to-reach, including the following: Yalda, Babila, Bayt Saham, Mu'addamiyah, Duma and Bludan in Rif Dimashq governorate; Rastan, Kafr Nan, Akrad al-Dasiniyah, Darah al-Kabirah, Wa'r, Talbisah, Mukharram and Mashrafah in Homs governorate; Urum al -Kubra, Kafr Hamrah and Ma'arrat al-Artiq in Aleppo governorate; Izra' in Dar'a governorate; Ariha and Jisr al-Shughur in Idlib governorate; and by air into the city of Dayr al -Zawr.

7. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates that there is no such thing as good or bad terrorism. There is only one kind of terrorism, and it is an unadulterated evil that cuts down the lives of innocents and undermines peace and security not only in Syria but in every State in the region and the world, including the very States that nurture, sponsor and shelter terrorist organizations, groups and entities. This process is under way, as we can see from the crimes of terrorism and racist murder that are taking place in countries around the world.

8. The Syrian Government rejects the authors' endeavour to minimize the humanitarian successes achieved in Syria in coordination and cooperation with the Government. The Syrian Government finds it odd that the report gives credit for these achievements, including the delivery of assistance to hotspots, to the United Nations side alone. Whether those parties like it or not, assistance could not be delivered successfully to Syrian civilians, or to others like them who are affected by the crisis in Syrian territory, without major facilitation by the Syrian Government, whose ministries and agencies have cooperated extensively with the United Nations and international organizations in order to facilitate humanitarian work.

9. The Syrian Government also rejects the authors' attempt, in paragraph 50, to suggest that areas such as Nubul and Zahra in Aleppo governorate, which are besieged by armed terrorist groups, are not in need of humanitarian assistance because commercial goods are reaching the people there. We may well wonder what is the motivation for that argument? Is the intention to improve the image of certain terrorist groups? At the same time, the United Nations side insists on delivering assistance to other areas which it classifies as besieged, such as the Duma area, even though plenty of weapons, equipment, ammunition and funds are reaching Duma regularly. How can an area supposedly under siege receive weapons but not goods and food supplies?

10. The Syrian Government finds it regrettable that the United Nations failed to respond to its request for additional food assistance to persons affected by the crisis during the month of Ramadan. That request was intended to help such persons bear the additional burdens that Ramadan is known to entail.

11. Events have shown that the Syrian Government has taken sound decisions and acted in earnest. It therefore rejects the authors' persistent endeavours to belittle its efforts. The authors repeat claims that have no basis in truth, are based on prejudicial sources, and have time and time again been proven by events to lack credibility. Nevertheless, we find those same United Nations parties trying to burnish the image of terrorist organizations associated with Al-Qaida, above all the terrorist Nusrah Front, by inventing new terms to describe them, such as "non-State armed groups", in an undisguised attempt to divert the attention of members of the Security Council and the international community from the crimes that have been committed by that organization and its terrorist associates and affiliates against innocent Syrian civilians over the long years of the crisis in Syria. That course of action sets a dangerous precedent that legitimizes violation of various aspects of international law, and encourages States to devalue international law and the standing of international resolutions. That is particularly true when the precedent is coming from the United Nations as represented by its Secretariat, which has been ignoring Security Council counter-terrorism resolutions and disregarding the fact that they are binding on the Organization and its Member States.

12. The Syrian Government, which was a founding member of the United Nations, reiterates its commitment to that Organization as an intergovernmental body with the lofty goal of maintaining the safety, unity and independence of States and reinforcing global security and peace. We therefore find it disgraceful that the Secretariat is being dragged into becoming a party to the crisis in Syria. Although it has been over a year since the Secretary-General began issuing monthly reports on implementation of Security Council resolutions on the humanitarian situation in Syria, the authors of these reports continued to call things by the wrong names. They neglect to shed light on the root cause of the human suffering that the Syrian people has faced for over four years. That cause, terrorism, is as clear as the light of day. We can only interpret this approach as part of an effort to implement the narrow agendas of certain States, acknowledged repeatedly by their highest official spokesmen, notably the regimes of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France, Britain and the United States, which have been doing everything in their power to harm Syria, undermine its sovereignty and weaken its regional and international standing.

13. The authors of the report continue to minimize the negative impact of the unprecedented new model of terrorism that is attacking Syrians daily, from explosive devices planted in places packed with civilian inhabitants, as happened a few days ago in the city of Homs, to missile attacks on peaceful neighbourhoods that spill innocent Syrian blood and kill innocent victims in their houses, schools, workplaces and public markets. The most recent missile attacks, against residential neighbourhoods in the cities of Damascus and Aleppo, were the work of the terrorists that the terrorism-sponsoring States like to call "the moderate armed opposition". They claimed the lives of hundreds of children, women and elderly persons and injured hundreds more in a matter of days.

14. Syria also deplores the fact that Secretariat officials persist in including in the report abhorrent terms that convey extremism and blind zealotry, in an effort to distort the true nature of the situation in Syria. Such expressions portray in confessional and sectarian terms what is in fact a war on terrorism and armed terrorist groups. That reading is contrary to both the facts on the ground and values and culture of the Syrian people that are deeply rooted in ages past. The report echoes the terrorist groups' own pretexts in a testament to its authors' intellectual and political sterility.

15. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic wishes to draw attention to certain misstatements in paragraph 42 of the report regarding the granting of visas and entry stamps to United Nations staff and missions. That paragraph neglects to mention the great responsiveness shown by the Syrian Government in processing the United Nations requests. We note in this regard that the number of visas or stamps that exceeded the 15 -day limit was 18, not 42, and the remaining 43 requests were either dealt with or were being processed. We also note that the delays in issuing some of the visas were the fault of the United Nations, which fails to include the required information in the visa applications, or asks for last-minute changes in the places of issuance.

16. The report gives only passing mention to the terrorist crimes being committed against cities and towns, and the brutal massacres being perpetrated against women, children and the elderly in areas under attack by armed terrorist groups. The most recent such attack was a massacre in the village of Qalb Lawzah in the Idlib countryside, where the terrorist Nusrah Front killed dozens of civilians, most of them women and children. The report even notes that the Nusrah Front was quick to condemn the very crime that it itself had committed, which is simply an insult to the intelligence of the reader. Beforehand, the Nusrah Front and other entities that the report calls "non-State armed groups" had committed similar crimes in Aleppo in the north, Busra al-Sham in the south, Ishtabraq in the Idlib countryside, Mab'ujah in the Hama countryside, Tadmur (Palmyra) in Homs governorate, Adra al-'Ummaliyah and Ma'lulah in Rif Dimashq, Ayn al-'Arab in Hasakah governorate, and other cities and towns in Syria.

17. My Government reiterates that these despicable terrorist crimes against humanity have been able to take place only because Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Jordan and Turkey continue to provide weapons, financing, materiel, shelter, medical treatment and training to armed terrorist groups. The most recent of such crimes was carried out by ISIL terrorists who infiltrated Syrian territory from Turkey and killed dozens of people in Ayn al-'Arab (Kobani). The support provided to those terrorists is a blatant ongoing violation of Security Council resolutions, and in particular those relating to counter-terrorism. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic therefore reiterates what it has been saying for years: in order to combat the terrorist campaign against the Government and the people of the Syrian State, it is essential to establish counter-terrorism cooperation with the Syrian Government and take deterrent measures against States that encourage, incite, arm, finance, train and openly facilitate the transport into Syrian territory of terrorists. Only such an approach can genuinely address the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

18. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic regrets that the reports of the Secretary-General, including the present one, treat the issue of displacement in an incomplete and distorted fashion. They ignore the fact that the issue has always and exclusively been caused by terrorist groups such as ISIL, the Nusrah Front, the Army of Conquest (the Nusrah Front's current guise) and terrorist organizations affiliated with Al-Qaida, and the Free Army, the Army of Islam, the Islamic Front, the Levant Front and other organizations associated or affiliated with them. Those groups, with the support of Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, are attacking and occupying Syrian cities and towns, expelling the inhabitants and precipitating humanitarian crises. The Syrian Government reiterates that the acts of terrorism being perpetrated in Syria by terrorists coming from more than 100 countries would not continue if foreign powers were not embracing the terrorist groups and covering up their war crimes against peaceful Syrians and their property and resources. It also regrets that the reports of the Secretary-General ignore the plain fact that the displacement is always in the directions of areas under the protection of the Syrian Arab Army -- a fact well known to the offices of United Nations agencies operating in Syria, which are sending aid convoys precisely to those areas.

Enclosure 1 lists some of the crimes committed by ISIL, the Nusrah Front, the Free Army, the Army of Islam, the Army of Conquest and other armed terrorist groups.

19. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic stresses that it will continue to provide the necessary permits and facilitation for the delivery of assistance to all areas, provided that security conditions are conducive to guaranteeing the safety of both Syrian and non-Syrian humanitarian workers, as is our duty as the host State. The Government has facilitated the delivery of assistance to all Syrian civilians and others in the same situation, including in areas classified as hard-to-reach. Tens of thousands of food parcels have been delivered through Government efforts to civilians in such areas as Mu'addamiyah, Damir, Tall and Qadam in Damascus and Rif Dimashq governorates.

20. In that regard, the Syrian Government regrets that the authors of the report insist on concealing the Government's efforts to help thousands of preparatory and secondary students living in such hot spots as Raqqah, Idlib and parts of the eastern Ghutah to get out of those areas in order to do their exams. It finds it odd that the authors should minimize the quantity of medical supplies delivered, as they do in paragraphs 56 and 57 of the present report, although paragraphs 53, 54 and 55 note that the World Health Organization delivered medical assistance, with the approval of the Syrian Government and in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, to large numbers of recipients in many areas, including hot spots in Aleppo, Dar'a, Rif Dimashq, Dayr al-Zawr and Hasakah governorates.

21. In cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and other Palestinian and international organizations, the Syrian Government continued its emergency response to the forced displacement of Palestinian refugees from the Yarmouk Camp after ISIL terrorists infiltrated the camp with help from the Nusrah Front in April 2015. That response has mitigated the crisis significantly by helping civilians who wish to leave the camp and providing them with shelter and humanitarian assistance. As of the end of May 2015, up to 2,550 families had escaped the hell created by the gangs in the camp. The Syrian Government also helped Palestinian students to get out of the camp to take their exams and to return, carrying food parcels and medical supplies with them.

22. Despite the politicization of humanitarian issues, the Syrian Government acknowledges the important work being done by a number of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes operating in Syria. It wishes to reaffirm the plain fact that such work would not be possible without its efforts, its constructive cooperation and its considerable role in facilitating the process. During the month of May, as a result of its fruitful cooperation with the Government, the World Food Programme (WFP) was able to deliver assistance inside Syrian territory to approximately 3.1 million beneficiaries. That was despite the challenges facing humanitarian work, above all inadequate funding for the 2015 Strategic Response Plan, which was funded at only 22 per cent, according to the report, as of the middle of June, that is to say, the midpoint of the year 2015.

23. In that connection, the Syrian Government reiterates yet again that it is the party most committed to the Syrian people and to the Palestinian refugees in Syria. It has continued to provide the greatest share of humanitarian, relief, living and health needs to citizens affected by the crisis across the country, without discrimination, and has carried out its responsibilities at a time when State infrastructure and services have been intentionally and systematically targeted for destruction by terrorist groups trying to cut citizens off from water, electricity, energy, food, medicine, education and the other prerequisites for a decent quality of life.

24. In an irony that borders on political hypocrisy, certain States that are purportedly committed to a humanitarian response have persistently inflamed the situation in Syria and imposed unilateral economic measures that have further worsened the living conditions of Syrians, who have supported and rallied around their legitimate Government. It is unfortunate that the report of the Secretary-General deliberately neglects to cover those measures taken against the Syrian people, which violate the Charter of the United Nations, the principles of international law and United Nations resolutions.

25. As video and audio recordings broadcast by the Turkish media have recently shown, Turkey and Jordan have helped parties and organizations that support terrorism to smuggle weapons and foreign terrorists into Syria. They have done so on the pretext of providing humanitarian aid, and have used the same border crossings used by the United Nations to deliver cross-border humanitarian assistance. The Syrian Government finds it deplorable that United Nations officials ignore those facts. Certain United Nations officials have taken an approach inconsistent with the framework established by General Assembly resolution 46/182. We therefore stress that the activities of United Nations agencies must comply with the basic principles that regulate their work, which are enshrined in the aforementioned resolution and which include above all respect for national sovereignty and avoidance of politicization.

26. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates that it will continue to cooperate with the United Nations to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to all of its citizens who have been affected by the crisis, wherever they may be, without discrimination, in accordance with the guiding principles for humanitarian emergency assistance set forth in General Assembly resolution 46/182, particularly respect for Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, a principle that was underscored in Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014).

27. In that regard, the Syrian Government is surprised by the position taken by United Nations officials in paragraph 5 of the annex to the report, which gives legitimacy to violations of the borders of the Syrian Arabic Republic being committed by non-governmental organizations. Those organizations are operating in the Syrian Arab Republic illegally on the pretext of delivering assistance. They have flagrantly violated the principles of humanitarian work and international law by operating on the territory of a Member State of the United Nations without the agreement of the Government of that State. We request that the United Nations stop trying to legitimize activities that are illegal under international law.

Enclosure 2 contains examples of humanitarian assistance that was delivered 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. It also lists assistance delivered by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

28. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic stresses that its ongoing actions have stemmed from its awareness of the constitutional and legal responsibilities, and are in response to the crimes of armed terrorist groups financed, sponsored and trained abroad. Those actions are intended to protect our peaceful citizens. That is contrary to the claims and allegations being made by some as part of an effort to tarnish the Syrian Government's image by any means possible, including by turning the facts upside down and enlisting terrorism in support of that goal. In its war against terrorism today, the Government of Syria is fighting on behalf of not only the Syrian people, but also the peoples of neighbouring States and of the entire world. It does so in defence of the values of humanity, justice, freedom, dignity and the rule of law, and against the evils of blind terrorism and extremism and a corrosive, obscurantist ideology.

29. As it has done in the past, Syria reaffirms its support for any genuine international effort aimed at countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, provided that, in doing so, every effort is made to safeguard civilian lives and respect national sovereignty, Syrian territorial integrity, United Nations resolutions and international instruments. The so -called "war against terrorism" that has been orchestrated by certain States for close to a year now has not achieved any of its purported goals. On the contrary, it has allowed the terrorist organization ISIL and its satellites and allied groups to expand, move around and spread with complete freedom, not only in Syria and Iraq, but in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and most recently in Tunisia and Kuwait. The international community must therefore stand resolutely in the face of the States -- above all the regimes of Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan -- that are supporting and funding terrorism and armed terrorist groups, whose rage is spreading like wildfire across the region and the world. Those regimes have been supported and encouraged by certain States that are trying to sign military contracts with Saudi Arabia and Qatar in exchange for their silence about the role of certain other States in fuelling the fires of terrorism.

30. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms its position that the crisis in Syria requires a political solution based on dialogue among Syrians under Syrian leadership without any outside intervention.

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

(Signed) Bashar Ja'afari
Ambassador
Permanent Representative

Enclosure 1

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

On 1 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells, locally-made missiles and gas canisters at the Nile Street, Bab al-Faraj, Ashrafiyah, Jamiliyah and Shahba' al-Jadidah neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo, killing three civilians and injuring 32 others.
On 2 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired a mortar shell that fell at the entrance gate to the Faculty of Civil Engineering in the city of Damascus, causing material damage.
On 2 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells and gas canisters at Ashrafiyah and Aziziyah squares in Aleppo, killing 14 civilians and injuring 44 others.
On 4 May 2015, armed terrorist groups in Harasta Farms in Rif Dimashq directed sniper fire at the Damascus -Homs highway, injuring a passenger in a public transportation vehicle.
On 4 May 2015, an armed terrorist group on the Barik-Awrah highway in Shahba', in Suwayda' governorate, shot and killed a person named Jadu Salih al-Halabi while he was driving his car, killing him.
On 5 May 2015, armed terrorist groups detonated an explosive device on the Akrad al-Dasiniyah-Tasnin highway, killing a civilian and injuring three others.
On 5 May 2015, an armed terrorist group from the so -called "Free Army" entered the Sanamayn primary and secondary schools for girls in the city of Sanamayn, in Dar'a governorate, and vandalized and stole items inside.
On 6 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired a mortar shell that landed behind Abbasiyin Hospital in the city of Damascus, injuring two civilians.
On 6 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired 10 mortar shells at the village of Khunayfis, killing a child and injuring three civilians.
On 7 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells, locally -made missiles and gas canisters at the A'zamiyah, Sharafiyah, Suryan al-Jadidah, Jam'iyat al-Zahra' and Aziziyah neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo, killing five civilians and injuring 33 others, most of their women and children.
On 8 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired a missile at Awras Farms in the city of Homs, injuring 27 civilians.
On 9 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired a mortar shell at Suq al-Hal in the city of Damascus, injuring eight civilians.
On 9 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired a mortar shell and gas canisters at the Salah al-Din, Ashrafiyah and Masakin al-Sabil neighbourhoods, killing nine civilians and injuring 28.
On 10 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired a mortar shell at Suq al-Hal in the city of Damascus, injuring 8 civilians.
On 10 May 2015, armed terrorist groups abducted Dr. Ammar Dib in the city of Tall, in Rif Dimashq, and demanded a large ransom for his release.
On 11 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired missiles at the Zayzun electrical station in Dar'a governorate, putting the station out of service.
On 11 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired six mortar shells at the city of Izra' in Dar'a governorate, injuring 11 civilians.
On 12 May 2015, armed terrorist groups directed sniper fire and fired gas canisters at the Hamdaniyah, Bab al-Faraj and Ashrafiyah neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo, killing two civilians and injuring eight others.
On 13 May 2015, armed terrorist groups detonated an explosive device near the Ahmad Shafiq al-Sadat school in Masakin Barzah in Damascus governorate, killing a civilian and injuring eight others.
On 14 May 2015, armed terrorist groups detonated an explosive device near the Suqaylibiyah-Ayn al-Kurum highway in Hamah governorate while a private car was passing, injuring a citizen.
On 17 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired three mortar shells at the towns of Tall and Hurnah in Rif Dimashq governorate, injuring three children.
On 17 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired eight missiles at the Ebla gas plant south of the central region of Homs governorate, causing severe material damage.
On 18 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells at the city of Tadmur, killing three civilians and injuring 27 others.
On 19 May 2015, armed terrorist groups from the so -called ISIL terrorist organization attached the city of Qahf in Suwayda' governorate, killing four civilians and injuring others.
On 20 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells that landed near the Thaqafi School in the city of Damascus, killing a teacher and injuring 25 others, most of them students.
On 21 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells that landed near the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the city of Damascus, killing a civilian and injuring three others.
On 21 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells at the city of Izra' in Dar'a governorate, killing four civilians and injuring nine others.
On 22 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells that landed near a school being used to house displaced persons at the Wafidin refugee camp in Rif Dimashq, killing a civilian and injuring three others.
On 23 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired missiles at the thermal power station in Hamah governorate, causing severe material damage.
On 23 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired locally-made missiles and gas canisters at the Sharafiyah, Hamdaniyah and Aziziyah neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo, killing a civilian and injuring 16 others.
The so-called ISIL terrorist group overran one of the world's most ancient cities, the historic city of Tadmur, and wreaked havoc there as they always do. Fear and terror has spread among the peaceful citizens, and horrifying massacres have been committed against the city's defenceless inhabitants. Upon gaining control of the city of Tadmur, the terrorists slaughtered dozens of peaceful citizens, most of them women, children and elderly persons. Terrorists from the ISIL hordes barred citizens from leaving their historic city. Many families and young persons were taken to unknown locations, and their fates remain unknown.
On 26 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired missiles at the city of Izra' in Dar'a governorate, injuring two children.
On 27 May 2015, armed terrorist groups fired mortar shells at the Jam'iyat al- Zahra' and Sayf al -Dawlah neighbourhoods in Aleppo governorate, injuring eight civilians.
On 30 May 2015, an armed terrorist gang from the so -called Army of Islam entered eastern Monastery of Saint Julian and abducted Father Ya'qub Murad and took him to an unknown location.
On 30 May 2015, an armed terrorist gang from the so-called Nusrah Front fired five mortar shells at the village of Hadar in Qunaytirah governorate, causing material damage to several houses.

Enclosure 2

Examples of humanitarian assistance that was delivered during May 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.

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 Hasakah, Aleppo, Dar'a, and Hama, but not to Raqqah, Dayr al-Zawr or Idlib governorates. A total of 388,098 food parcels were delivered, including 54,026 parcels to Hama and its countryside, 74,844 parcels to Rif Dimashq, 23,511 parcels to Dar'a and its countryside, 8,057 parcels to Qunaytirah, 100,552 parcels to Aleppo and its countryside, and 18,955 parcels to 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, Hama, Dar'a, Qunaytirah and Aleppo. A total of 85,759 food parcels, 34,760 parcels of canned food, and 35,250 food rations were distributed in Aleppo, Damascus and Rif Dimashq. A total of 14,581 parcels were distributed to the Rif Dimashq, Damascus and Aleppo governorates by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid (non-food aid and medical assistance) provided by foreign non-governmental organizations operating in Syria to Aleppo, Rif Dimashq, Dar'a, Damascus and Hamah governorates. Tens of thousands of families benefited from this assistance in several governorates, including Aleppo, Hama, Damascus, Rif Dimashq and Suwayda'.
Some 1,940,490 Syrian beneficiaries (388,098 families) received food parcels provided by the United Nations through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. On the other hand, some 1,223,310 Syrian beneficiaries (244,662 families) received food parcels provided by the United Nations through non-governmental organizations. The total number of the beneficiaries of such assistance thus stands at 3,163,800.
Certain parties at the United Nations that stand to gain from cross-border assistance delivery have relentlessly sought to promote and heap praise on that approach, inflate the figures and cover up its ineffectiveness. That is why the report notes that cross-border assistance has reached 1.8 million beneficiaries. In actual fact, according to the sparse information provided by the United Nations, and assuming that the assistance did indeed reached affected civilians, which is impossible to verify, the number of beneficiaries of food assistance in during the month of May was some 900,000 persons, according to United Nations notifications, which are full of gaps and are missing information.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has continued to respond to the emergency needs of some 2,540 families in Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham who fled Yarmouk Camp at the beginning of April, after the ISIL organization overran the camp. They received humanitarian assistance (food and non-food aid and health-care supplies) provided by the United Nations, other international organizations and UNWRA, with 8,250 food parcels being delivered.
The World Health Organization was able to deliver medicines and provide medical instruments to 2.2 million beneficiaries.
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 46,000 food parcels to be brought into Hasakah governorate during May 2015. The Government also gave approval during the month of April for the delivery 105 tons of date biscuits.

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15Jul15

Position of the Syrian Governement on the 16th Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the resolutions by all parties to the Syrian conflict