UN investigators on Monday said that the Syrian civil war has turned into a multifaceted proxy conflict shaped by a complicated network of alliances.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in its latest report that war crimes were “rampant” in this conflict, and they were aggravated by “blatant impunity”.
“Relevant Security Council resolutions remain largely unheeded and unimplemented. Crimes against humanity continue to be committed by government forces and by Islamic State in Iraq and Al-Sham (Daesh)”, read the report.
“The conflict has devolved into a multisided proxy war steered from abroad by an intricate network of alliances”, it said, adding that major powers “that are ostensibly pushing for a peaceful solution to the war are the same that continue to feed the military escalation”.
Syria has remained locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
More than 250,000 victims have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN figures.
UN investigators said Syrian government forces and Daesh “deliberately” targeted hospitals in areas not under their control, adding that these attacks “resulted in little or no medical help being available for serious injuries”.
Since March 2011, Syria is in the throes of a conflict that has killed over 250,000 people and forced more than half of all Syrians to leave their homes. An estimated four million Syrians have sought refuge in neighbouring countries alone, including Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. The crisis, described as the worst humanitarian disaster of our time, has caused untold suffering for Syrian men, women and children.
The United Nations is working tirelessly to bring the parties to the negotiating table and an end to the war. The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, announced the start of Intra-Syrian Talks in Geneva on 29 January 2016. These talks are expected to last six months, with regular breaks between sessions.