UN commission of inquiry on Syria condemns unlawful attacks

The UN-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on Wednesday condemned "in the strongest terms" recent attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, notably on hospitals and clinics in the city of Aleppo city and on an internally displaced persons' camp in Idlib.

"Aerial bombardments, ground shelling, and rocket fire have consistently been used in deliberate, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attacks on areas where Syrians civilians live and where they struggle to survive," the commission said in a statement issued Wednesday.

The statement said that since the attacks against Al-Quds hospital in Aleppo on April 27, there have been over a half dozen attacks on other medical facilities in the area; all of which are specifically protected sites under international humanitarian law.

Scores of civilian victims and medical personnel have been wounded or killed in these attacks, it added.

"These incidents demonstrate the undeniable fact that this conflict has repeatedly exacted its heaviest toll on civilians," Paulo Pinheiro, chair of the commission, was cited as saying.

The commission called on all parties to cease attacking civilian areas.

"Accountability must be part of the process of returning Syria to peace. Until the culture of impunity is uprooted, civilians will continue to be targeted, victimized and brutally killed," the statement stressed.

The Commission of Inquiry on Syria was established by the UN Human Rights Council in August 2011 to investigate and document all violations of international human rights law and allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The commission is also tasked with identifying those responsible for these violations with a view to ensuring perpetrators are held to account. Endit