I. Introduction
1. The present report is the twenty-ninth submitted pursuant to paragraph 17 of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014), paragraph 10 of Council resolution 2165 (2014), paragraph 5 of Security Council resolution 2191 (2014) and paragraph 5 of Council resolution 2258 (2015), in which the Council requests the Secretary-General to report, every 30 days, on the implementation of the resolutions by all parties to the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic.
2. The information contained herein is based on the data available to United Nations agencies on the ground, from the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, other Syrian sources and open sources. Data from United Nations agencies on their humanitarian deliveries have been reported for the period from 1 to 30 June 2016. More recent data have been included when available.
II. Major developments
A. Developments on the ground
3. During the reporting period, military activities continued to threaten the viability of the cessation of hostilities. Military activities, including air strikes, continued, mainly in the northern part of the country, as well as in Rif Dimashq and other governorates. In line with resolution 2258 (2015), the following description of developments on the ground reports on the compliance by all parties in the Syrian Arab Republic with resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014). This information is without prejudice to the work of the International Syria Support Group Task Force on the Ceasefire.
4. Fighting continued throughout the reporting period in Damascus and Rif Dimashq governorates, particularly in eastern Ghutah, where clashes between Government forces and non-State armed opposition groups continued along several fronts. Air strikes and shelling resulting in civilian casualties and injuries were reported in several towns, including Duma, Maydaʻa, Marj, Hammurah, and Utaya. According to information received by reliable sources, on 29 June, ground strikes hit an ambulance which was en route from Duma to Hammurah. A female physiotherapist was reportedly killed. On 30 June, air strikes struck residential buildings in Utaya, reportedly killing at least 18 civilians.
5. In western Ghutah, Government forces conducted an offensive on the besieged town of Darayya. After the delivery of humanitarian aid on 1 June, Darayya town witnessed a military escalation and was reportedly hit with air strikes and ground attempts to advance inside the town. On 6 June, air strikes hit residential areas of Darayya, allegedly killing one civilian and injuring five others. A second humanitarian convoy with food aid went into Darayya on 10 June and the town came under ground strikes and air strikes while the convoys were still on the ground. On 19 June, non-State armed opposition groups reopened a corridor with the neighbouring town of Muʽaddamiyah al-Sham, before Government forces restored control over the area several hours later. Meanwhile, in Muʽaddamiyah al-Sham, three civilians were reportedly killed and at least two others injured when residential areas of the town were hit by ground strikes on 21 June.
6. Government forces reportedly intensified air strikes and artillery shelling on Khan al-Shih area of Rif Dimashq almost on a daily basis during the reporting period, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries to civilians, as well as damage and destruction to civilian homes. For example, according to information received by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on 29 June, air strikes hit two civilians’ houses in Khan al-Shih, allegedly killing six civilians, including a five-year-old child and a woman, and injuring at least 10 other civilians.
7. In Yarmuk camp, fighting resumed between Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Nusrah Front in June, placing civilians at further risk. The Nusrah Front made slight advances after launching counter-attacks to recapture the areas it lost in April. As noted in my most recent report (S/2016/546), on 11 June, in the Damascus suburb of Sayyidah Zainab, two explosions resulted in the death of at least 12 people and wounded many others. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attacks through its Aamaq Twitter posts. The attack was the fourth such incident perpetrated by ISIL against the Sayyidah Zainab shrine area in 2016.
8. Military activity intensified in Aleppo governorate in June. Government and pro-Government forces launched attacks on non-State armed opposition group-controlled eastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo city. OHCHR received reports of scores of civilians, many of them children, being killed in June. For example, on 8 June, an air strike reportedly hit Bayan Hospital, allegedly killing at least 15 civilians. On 14 June, 26 civilians were allegedly killed after air strikes hit several neighbourhoods in eastern Aleppo city, according to information received by OHCHR. On 18 and 20 June, air strikes reportedly hit two health-care centres in Fardous and Tariq al-Bab, causing substantial damage to the facilities, although no casualties were reported.