MESOP : NEW DOCUMENT BY HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH – ‘Assad is a liar’: HRW

ARA News – 26 Feb 2015 – Istanbul, Turkey – The Human Rights Watch Organization said that the Syrian regime is the main party to blame regarding the high number of victims of the conflict in the country, and its attacks on the cities is the main reason for the worsening humanitarian situation.The Vice President of the HRW in the Middle East and North Africa, Nadim Houri, told reporters that the Syrian government’s forces have bombed more than 1500 locations in Syria during the past four years. A report explaining these facts was published following Houri’s comments. The organization accused the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of “lying” in his recent statements made in an interview with BBC two weeks ago, when he denied his government’s use of barrel bombs in its war against the opposition fighters.

“We know that he is simply lying,” said the HRW’s heat at the U.N. Department, Philip Pouloben.

The report documented 450 locations that have been exposed to barrel bombs in southern Syria, mostly centered in ten towns and villages belonging to the province of Daraa, while hundreds other sites were identified in Aleppo province, northern Syria. According to the HRW’s new report, the locations were identified through satellite images and footages broadcasted by Syrian activists. Speaking to ARA News, Baraa Khalil, aid worker in the city of Aleppo, said that the pace of the bombing is still high in most areas where clashes continue around the city, pointing out that they are documenting dozens of air force sorties a day. “The pro-Assad military forces are still using barrel bombs and artillery shelling systematically, and the largest percentage of the victims of these attacks is civilians,” Khalil added. Noteworthy, many international organizations demand passing on these facts to the International Criminal Court (ICC), but UN Security Council has been unable to make a binding decision in this regard.

Reporting by: Mustafa Hamid Source: ARA News