I. Introduction
The present report is the thirty-third 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.
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 October 2016.
Box 1 Key points in October 2016
(1) A unilateral pause in the aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo has been largely in place since 18 October, providing a welcome respite to residents. The United Nations, together with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international and Syrian non-governmental organizations, continues to work to urgently provide humanitarian and medical assistance, including evacuating the critically injured and sick from eastern Aleppo.
(2) In October, seven inter-agency convoys delivered assistance to 285,500 people in besieged and hard-to-reach locations, of a total of 962,000 people (29.6 per cent) requested under the inter-agency convoy plan.
(3) Following a comprehensive review by the United Nations, it was estimated that, as at 1 November, some 974,080 people were living in areas under siege, up from 861,200 in the previous report (S/2016/873).
(4) The United Nations and health partners received credible reports of 25 attacks against medical facilities and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) verified three attacks against educational facilities in October.
(5) The sick and injured living in Fu‘ah, Kafraya, Madaya and Zabadani continue to require urgent medical evacuations and assistance, but, owing to disagreement among the parties to the Four Towns agreement, these have been further restricted. This resulted in the death of a 13-year-old boy in Madaya on 29 October.
II. Major developments
Throughout October, military operations continued to kill and injure civilians, destroy civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools and damage the livelihoods of millions. Attacks against educational facilities were particularly notable, killing and maiming scores of children. Insecurity remained a major factor limiting the ability of United Nations agencies and their partners to deliver much - needed humanitarian assistance. Heavy fighting continued nationwide, including in Aleppo, Dayr al-Zawr, Hama, Idlib and Rif Dimashq governorates.
Eastern Aleppo, where some 275,000 people have been trapped since July, remained a particular focus of aid efforts. Following the announcement of a halt in all Russian and Syrian air strikes on Aleppo on 18 October, the United Nations, together with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international and Syrian non-governmental organizations, was ready to urgently evacuate the critically injured and sick, together with their family members, from eastern Aleppo to locations of their choosing, as well as to provide much-needed assistance. Humanitarian teams engaged in intense negotiations with all sides in an effort to undertake the evacuations before the pause ended on 23 October. Those efforts notwithstanding, the evacuations did not take place and were obstructed by a number of factors, including delays in receiving the list of patients to be medically evacuated from the local authorities in eastern Aleppo, conditions stipulated by non-State armed opposition groups and the Government’s objection to allowing medical and other relief supplies into the eastern side of the city. Despite the Russian-declared end of the pause on 23 October and initial reports of air strikes, the only further air strikes on eastern Aleppo reported during the month occurred on 31 October (see table 1 for information on reported attacks against civilians in October). Efforts to secure medical evacuations out of and deliver assistance into eastern Aleppo are continuing.
On 28 October, non-State armed opposition groups announced a new campaign to break the siege of eastern Aleppo and continued their heavy shelling of western Aleppo. On 30 October, the building housing United Nations offices and staff in western Aleppo was damaged by a shell.
Efforts were also undertaken to prepare for fresh displacement following the launch of operations to combat Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Mosul, Iraq, on 17 October. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expanded space and prepared for the provision of necessary services in the Hawl camp, Hasakah governorate, near the Iraqi border, for some 15,000 refugees and is planning further expansion to meet the basic needs of a total of 50,000 refugees. There are currently 4,600 refugees living at the site, in addition to some 3,500 internally displaced persons. UNICEF is also providing additional support. To date, however, there have been no reports of significant new cross-border movements.
Following a period of reported clashes and heavy shelling and bombing, on 1 and 8 October, government representatives and a negotiating committee representing non-State armed opposition groups reached local agreements with regard to Qadsayya and Hamah, Rif Dimashq governorate, respectively. Subsequently, on 13 October, some 1,400 individuals from non-State armed opposition groups from both towns were evacuated to Idlib governorate along with their family members. On 19 October, as part of a local agreement with regard to Mu‘addamiyah, Rif Dimashq governorate, some 1,800 non-State armed opposition fighters and opposition-affiliated local council members were evacuated to Idlib governorate along with their family members.
Disagreements over the implementation of a local agreement with regard to Wa‘r, Homs governorate, in relation to the release of detainees resulted in the routes into and out of the town being closed on 18 and 22 October, respectively, with an impact on the movement of goods and people. While movements have since resumed, negotiations are continuing on a number of issues, including the release of detainees, final destination points for evacuees and humanitarian access. There are also disagreements over the implementation of the local agreement of 24 August with regard to Darayya, Rif Dimashq governorate, which included the evacuation of the entire town, in relation to the agreed release of detainees.