I. Introduction
1. The present thirtieth report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 17 of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014), paragraph 10 of Council resolution 2165 (2014), paragraph 5 of Council resolution 2191 (2014) and paragraph 5 of Council resolution 2258 (2015), in which the Council requested 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 31 July 2016. More recent data has been included when available.
II. Major developments
A. Developments on the ground
3. During the reporting period, the deteriorating security environment had a significant impact on the humanitarian situation, including further damage to civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools, limiting the ability of United Nations agencies and their partners to deliver much-needed humanitarian support. Military activities, including airstrikes, continued in Aleppo, Dayr al-Zawr, Hasakah and Idlib, 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 provided without prejudice to the work of the International Syria Support Group Task Force on the Ceasefire.
4. Military activity intensified in Aleppo governorate in July, including major military operations by both Government and non-State armed groups in Aleppo city. On 7 July, Government forces advanced north of Aleppo city, cutting the Castillo road, the only remaining supply route to non-State armed group-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city. On 11 July, airstrikes on a residential area in the old city area of Aleppo reportedly resulted in the killing of 18 civilians, including two children and one woman, and the injury of at least 30 others. On 16 July, various neighbourhoods in non-State armed group-held Aleppo including Firdaws, the old city of Aleppo and Ma‘adi were hit by several airstrikes that reportedly resulted in the killing and injury of at least 22 civilians. Umar ibn Abdulaziz hospital in Ma‘adi neighbourhood was also allegedly damaged and put out of service by airstrikes which hit in its vicinity. The next day, airstrikes on residential areas of Abu al-Zuhur reportedly killed 11 civilians from one family and injured five others. On 23 and 24 July, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) received reports of four makeshift hospitals, along with the central blood bank, being hit by airstrikes in eastern Aleppo city (see para. 42). On 25 July, airstrikes hit a residential area in Mashhad neighbourhood, reportedly killing at least six civilians. On 31 July, airstrikes on three non-State armed group-controlled neighbourhoods of Aleppo — Mashhad, Ansari and Sukkari — destroyed a number of residential structures and reportedly killed at least 15 civilians, including a child, and injured another 10 civilians. Moreover, following an opposition advance in the south-west of the city, 25,000 people were displaced. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is providing assistance to these internally displaced persons in temporary shelters around the city.
5. Non-State armed groups significantly increased mortar and rocket attacks on Government forces-controlled areas in the western part of Aleppo city, causing significant casualties among civilians. During the Eid al-Fitr holidays, on 8 and 9 July, non-State armed groups reportedly increased the firing of mortars and rockets into Government-held areas of the city. At least 44 civilians were allegedly killed and dozens injured, including many women and children. Tens of civilians were reported as having been admitted to Razi and Jam‘iy hospitals. The strikes continued throughout July, allegedly causing further civilian deaths and injuries. For example, on 22 July, six civilians, including a child, were reportedly killed in Government-controlled Aleppo when mortars fired from eastern Aleppo hit a public park. On 25 July, a civilian woman and her child were allegedly killed by a mortar that fell on Khalidiyah neighbourhood.
6. Attacks on civilian infrastructure in Aleppo city took their toll on civilians. They include attacks on 31 July and 1 August that reportedly damaged a transmission centre, resulting in an electricity blackout throughout western and eastern Aleppo. Consequently the two main water pumping stations, both located in eastern Aleppo and serving over 2 million people across the city, stopped functioning. In western Aleppo, humanitarian actors are scaling up alternative sources of water; however, these are not sufficient to meet the full needs of the population. In eastern Aleppo, public wells are serving a portion of the population but will require sustained access and supplies of fuel to continue operating.
7. On 10 July, airstrikes on a residential area of Kafr Ibbin reportedly killed at least 19 civilians, including 11 children and two women. The same day, seven civilians were allegedly killed by airstrikes in Shantarah. Another airstrike, on 18 July, in Tukhar Taymu allegedly killed eight civilians from a single family, including women and children. In the early morning hours of 19 July, numerous airstrikes again hit residential areas in Tukhar Taymu, allegedly killing at least 70 civilians from nine families, including at least 20 children. A medical unit in Atarib was also allegedly hit by airstrikes on 24 July. On 30 July, a makeshift hospital was allegedly hit by an airstrike in north-western Huraytan and put out of service. No casualties were reported. On 30 July, four ground strikes hit the village of Kafr Naha reportedly killing five civilians and injuring 10 others. On 31 July, a ground strike hit a residential home in Anadan allegedly killing at least three civilians and injuring seven others.
8. Fierce fighting continued between Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Syrian Democratic Forces and their allies in and around the town of Manbij in the eastern countryside of Aleppo. On 18 July, at least 15 civilians from one family, including women and children, were reportedly killed when an airstrike hit their home in the Hazawnah neighbourhood of Manbij. On 28 July, airstrikes hit residential buildings in the ISIL-controlled town of Ghandurah located north-west of Manbij, and allegedly killed at least 28 civilians and injured dozens more, including a number of children. On 2 August, OHCHR received a note verbale from the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic which stated that those airstrikes killed 45 civilians. Hazawnah neighbourhood and the nearby village of Shuwayhah were also struck, and an unknown number of civilians were reportedly killed in Shuwayhah. Also on 28 July, an airstrike hit the Sharia Al-Rabita neighbourhood of Manbij and reportedly killed five civilians and injured dozens of others. On 28 July, ISIL allegedly executed at least 25 civilians, including a number of women and children, when they temporarily took over Buwayr village to the north of Manbij. Approximately 13,000 civilians were reportedly displaced from the town of Manbij because of ongoing infighting.