UN says at least 3,500 killed in Syria crackdown

[News_Editor]

UN says at least 3,500 killed in Syria crackdown

2011-11-09 04:30:25 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- At least 3,500 people have been killed in Syria since pro-democracy protests began earlier this year, the United Nations (UN) human rights office reported on Tuesday.

The latest death toll includes more than 60 people who were reported to have been killed by military and security forces since last week when the Syrian government signed the peace plan brokered by the Arab League. In addition, at least 19 were killed on Sunday which marked the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

"We are deeply concerned about the situation and by the Government's failure to take heed of international and regional calls for an end to the bloodshed," Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva.

On Saturday, the Syrian government announced it had released more than 550 detainees on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. However, Shamdasani said tens of thousands remain in detention and dozens continue to be 'arbitrarily arrested' everyday.

"Syrian troops continue to use tanks and heavy weaponry to mount attacks on residential areas in the city of Homs," the spokesperson said. "The situation in the neighborhood of Baba Amr has been particularly appalling. According to information the UN human rights office has received, the neighborhood has remained under siege for seven days, with residents deprived of food, water and medical supplies."

In response to the new death toll, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he is 'appalled' by the continuing deaths in Syria. "It is deplorable that despite making a commitment to the Arab League to end the violence last week, the Syrian Government has escalated the repression and many more people have died as a result," he said.

Hague added: "I call on the Syrian regime to lift the siege of Homs and allow in international aid and relief efforts, to withdraw all Syrian forces from the towns and cities of Syria in accordance with its agreement with the Arab League, and to implement all other aspects of the agreement in full."

The Foreign Secretary also called on the Arab League to respond 'swiftly and decisively' to the Syrian regime's failure to implement the agreement. "The international community look to these Arab nations to show decisive leadership to address this crisis in their midst," he said. "We welcome the efforts by the Arab League so far and will continue to support them in their attempts to mediate an end to violence in Syria."

The British government also renewed its call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign. "These recent developments show once again that no progress is possible in Syria until President Assad steps aside and allows others to take forward the political transition the country now desperately needs," Hague said.

The violence in Syria has continued despite the Syrian government accepting an Arab League plan last week to end the country's social unrest. The government had agreed to pull its army off the streets, release people jailed since the protests began and allow international journalists and Arab League observers to monitor the moves.

Pro-democracy demonstrations have spread across the country since mid-March, resulting in a fierce government crackdown which has left more than 3,500 people killed. The Syrian government has claimed violent acts against protesters have been carried out by 'terrorists dressed as soldiers,' although international observers have rejected these claims.

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