Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) deplores the Assad regime and its allies’ continued attacks on Syrian people and in particular the recent bombing campaign against civilians in the besieged town of Daraa al-Balad, in Daraa province. Such aggression must halt immediately, just as the siege of the town – one that has caused many hundreds of deaths and forced 10s of 1000s of people to flee – must end.
Daraa al-Balad is in the south of Daraa province, itself in the country’s south. Daraa al-Balad has been under siege regime forces for more than eight weeks, since 24 June. No humanitarian organisations have been permitted by those forces to enter the besieged city. Those remaining in Daraa al-Balad are very low on food and lack even basic medical supplies. In June, regime artillery shelling destroyed the only medical facility in the area. Around 38,500 have fled the town over the last period.
Starting Monday, the regime has attacked the town and its civilian populations with various arms, including “Veil” and “Golan” missiles, mortar rounds, and artillery fire. Inevitably, the use of such armaments on residential areas will cause mass civilian casualties.
AOHR UK, therefore, condemns this further round of aggression and implores all defenders of human rights and advocates for peace to put pressure on the overarching power in the conflict, the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies to, first, cease all attacks against Daraa al-Balad, and second and simultaneously, to allow humanitarian aid into the town itself.
