Syria: All parties must end attacks against civilians
20-12-2013 News Release
Damascus/Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is alarmed by the number of civilian casualties reported in Aleppo in recent days. The organization is calling on all parties to comply with the rules of international humanitarian law.
"Over one-hundred civilians have been killed in markets, a bus station and elsewhere in densely populated areas," said Magne Barth, head of the ICRC delegation in Syria. "Local hospitals already struggling to make do with limited supplies of medicines have been overwhelmed by the influx of casualties since last Sunday."
Aleppo, 18 December 2013 / © Reuters / S. Abobrahim
The ICRC calls on the parties to the conflict in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria to take constant care to protect and spare civilians. Parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injuries and loss of life. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited, and the ICRC therefore strongly urges all parties to refrain from using explosive weapons with a wide impact area in urban and residential areas.
Despite the violence of the last few days, the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent are carrying on with their work in Aleppo. They provide clean water for millions of people in the governorate and winter assistance for thousands of detainees held at the city's central prison.
For further information, please contact:
Simon Schorno, ICRC Damascus, tel: +963 993 700 847
Dibeh Fakhr, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 37 23 or +41 79 447 37 26
or visit our website: www.icrc.org