I. Introduction
1. The present report is the twenty-sixth submitted pursuant to Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), paragraph 17, 2165 (2014), paragraph 10, 2191 (2014), paragraph 5, and 2258 (2015), paragraph 5, 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 March 2016. More recent data have been included when available.
II. Major developments
A. Developments on the ground
3. The cessation of hostilities outlined in Security Council resolution 2268 (2016), by and large, continued to hold since entering into effect on 27 February 2016. As a result, March saw a clear decrease in the number of military operations. With ongoing meetings of the Task Force on Humanitarian Access, formed by the International Syria Support Group, and a simplified process for requesting approval for inter-agency convoys from Syrian authorities, the United Nations has continued to increase its assistance to people in besieged, hard-to-reach and priority cross-line locations during the reporting period. From 1 January to 12 April 2016, the United Nations reached 450,725 of 4.6 million civilians in those locations. In March, inter-agency convoys brought food aid to 102,125 of 486,000 civilians in besieged areas. However, more needs to be done to reach all people in besieged, hard-to-reach and other priority cross-line locations to which access has been formally approved. Delays in the final clearance of convoys, irregular access for medical and humanitarian workers and the removal of medicine and medical supplies and surgical items remain issues of significant concern.
4. In line with resolution 2258 (2015), developments on the ground with regard to compliance with resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014) by all parties in the Syrian Arab Republic is briefly described below. This information is without prejudice to the work of the Task Force on the Ceasefire of the International Syria Support Group.
5. While the cessation of hostilities decreased the level of fighting throughout the country, the Syrian people continued to be particularly affected by the conflict in those areas where military operations remained most intense, including areas of Rif Dimashq, Aleppo, Idlib, Dar‘a, Hasakah, Dayr al-Zawr and Homs governorates. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented attacks by all parties to the conflict, including government forces, non-State armed opposition groups and designated terrorist groups.1 Numerous reports were received of air strikes, artillery fire and mortar and rocket attacks, as well as of car and suicide bombings, killing and maiming innocent civilians. Private property, civilian infrastructure and protected buildings, such as schools and hospitals, also continued to be damaged and destroyed.
6. Fighting in Damascus and Rif Dimashq governorates continued to take a toll on civilians. On 4 March, OHCHR received reports of two air strikes along with artillery fire in the village of al-Shifoniya, near the town of Duma, allegedly killing at least one civilian and injuring three first responders. On 10 March, information received by OHCHR indicated that at least 4 civilians had been allegedly killed, including a child, and 10 others injured by shelling by pro-government forces in Duma. On the same day, intense fighting displaced 2,500 individuals within the subdistrict of Tall. On 31 March, OHCHR received reports that 37 civilians, including nine women and 12 children, had been killed and at least 40 others injured by numerous air strikes on various areas in the town of Dayr al-Asafir. The strikes had reportedly hit houses, a makeshift clinic, the grand mosque, a school and two civil defence centres.