BEIRUT — The Syrian government used controlled explosives and bulldozers to raze thousands of residential buildings, in some cases entire neighborhoods, in a campaign that appeared designed to punish civilians sympathetic to the opposition, a human-rights group said Thursday.
The demolitions took place between July 2012 and July 2013 in seven pro-opposition districts in and around the capital, Damascus, and the central city of Hama, according to a 38-page report by Human Rights Watch.
The New York-based group said the deliberate destruction violated international law.
"Wiping entire neighborhoods off the map is not a legitimate tactic of war," said Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher for HRW. "These unlawful demolitions are the latest additions to a long list of crimes committed by the Syrian government."
HRW said thousands of families have lost their homes because of the destruction.
It said officials in President Bashar al-Assad's government and state media have described the demolitions as part of urban planning or an effort to remove illegally constructed buildings. But HRW said it found military forces supervised the demolitions, which each targeted areas recently hit by fighting and known to be pro-opposition.
The areas targeted were Masha al-Arbayeen and Wadi al-Jouz in Hama, Qaboun, Tadamoun, Barzeh and the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus, and Harran al-Awamid outside the capital.
The report includes satellite images of the neighborhoods before and after the demolitions.
Buildings in Masha al-Arbaeen are visible in a photo dated Sept. 28, 2012. In a second, from Oct. 13, the buildings have been pulverized, while adjacent neighborhoods remain untouched.
Residents told HRW the government bulldozers directed by the military moved in after the rebels retreated from the area.
Wadi al-Jouz met a similar fate.
HRW cited one woman who lived nearby and said the army came to her district afterward and announced "they would destroy our neighborhood like they destroyed Wadi al-Jouz and Masha al-Arbaeen should a single bullet be fired from here."
HRW said it based its report on 14 satellite images, interviews with 16 witnesses and owners of razed homes. It also reviewed media reports, government statements and videos posted online.
"No one should be fooled by the government's claim that it is undertaking urban planning in the middle of a bloody conflict," Solvang said. "This was collective punishment of communities suspected of supporting the rebellion. The UN Security Council should . . . send a clear message that cover-ups and government impunity won't stand in the way of justice for victims."
BEFORE: The Masha al-Abardeen section of Hama.
AFTER: The same district after Syrian forces swept in.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Syria’s Assad flattens pro-rebel districts
Dengan url
http://makananrasaenak.blogspot.com/2014/01/syriaas-assad-flattens-pro-rebel.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Syria’s Assad flattens pro-rebel districts
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Syria’s Assad flattens pro-rebel districts
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar