During the month of April 2016, 3116 people have been killed in Syria despite the alleged truce sponsored by Washington and Moscow that had allowed U.N.-brokered peace talks to convene in Geneva. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 859 civilians, including 143 people under the age of 18 and 118 civilian women have been killed by Syrian and Russian forces across Syria. Of those killed, 410 civilians including 61 children and 56 women have been killed in raids by Syrian and Russian warplanes. Additionally 162 civilians were killed in targeting and mortar shells launched by rebel and Islamic factions in Aleppo and several other areas along the countryside.

Following the ongoing attacks, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, expressed his outrage at the ongoing “indiscriminate and seemingly calculated” attacks against civilians in Syria. Dieng stated that between 27 April and 5 May, there were at least six attacks on medical facilities by different parties to the conflict in Aleppo alone, marking the deadliest two weeks since the cessation of the hostilities accord effective since February 2016. In a statement, Dieng expressed the need for the international community to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and ensure responsible parties are held accountable.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon called on the warring Syrian sides to immediately recommit to the cessation of hostilities and uphold their responsibility to protect civilians. Noting the temporary re-launch of cessation of hostilities in Damascus and Lattakiya, the UN chief stressed the need to expand these arrangement to other parts of Syria, with special urgency for Aleppo. He also reiterated his call on all concerned regional and international actors, in particular, Russia and the United States, co-chairs of the International Syrian Support Group (ISSG), which is supporting the current UN-mediated intra-Syrian talks, to redouble their efforts to help the warring parties put the truce back on track.

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