(Norwegian Refugee Council) – The resumption of fighting in southern Syria is now putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians at immediate risk as the largest ever wave of displacement in the Syrian war unfolds, the Norwegian Refugee Council warned today. “This is a catastrophe in the making, but it can be stopped […]
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(The Ferret) – More than 10,000 children were killed or maimed in conflicts during 2017, according to a new United Nations (UN) report, which has prompted critics of the arms trade to accuse the UK of complicity in human rights abuses. Citing “unspeakable” violence, the UN has verified more than 21,000 “grave violations” of children’s rights from January to December 2017, an […]
(Amnesty International) – Civilians in Syria’s southern Daraa province are facing death and destruction as the government ramps up a merciless campaign of indiscriminate artillery shelling and air strikes that include repeated attacks on hospitals, Amnesty International said today. The organization has urged the Jordanian government to open its borders to people seeking to flee […]
(Human Rights Watch) – I held my breath yesterday, waiting for the US State Department to issue its latest annual list of governments implicated in the use of child soldiers. Last year’s list was a disaster: then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson overruled his own staff and left blatant violators – Afghanistan, Burma, and Iraq – off the list. […]
(Al Jazeera) – Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are intensifying their offensive over key rebel-held towns in the southern province of Deraa, as thousands of people continue to flee the area, witnesses tell Al Jazeera. Clashes broke out on Tuesday between pro-government forces, which have amassed on the outskirts of the town of Basr al-Harir, […]
(UN ECOSOC) – Prompt and effective action was key to addressing the sweeping impact of armed conflict on children as well as the myriad effects of climate change on the most vulnerable sectors of society, speakers said today as the Economic and Social Council continued its humanitarian affairs segment. Held under the theme “Restoring Humanity, Respecting […]
(The New York Times) – Raiding among cattle-herding tribes is a traditional part of life in South Sudan, but in the past five years, the skirmishes have become more violent and unrestrained. Small armed bands that traditionally guarded their communities’ livestock have been drawn into bitter proxy battles between the country’s two largest tribes: the […]
(Amnesty International) – Responding to reports that Russian aircraft carried out an attack in Idlib province last night, killing at least 44 people, Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Research Director at Amnesty International, said: “This outrageous attack, the deadliest in Idlib so far this year, targeted the village of Zardana overnight while people were breaking the Ramadan […]
(Amnesty International) – From amid the rubble of Raqqa, civilians are asking why US-led Coalition forces destroyed the city, killing hundreds of civilians in the process of “liberating” them from the armed group calling itself “Islamic State” (IS), Amnesty International said in a new report ahead of the offensive’s anniversary. Amnesty International researchers visited 42 […]
(Associated Press) – The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday that for the first time recognizes the link between conflict and hunger and strongly condemns the use of starvation as a method of warfare. The resolution calls on all parties to conflict to comply with international humanitarian law that bans attacks on civilians […]
