I. Introduction
1. The present report is the twenty-seventh 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 as well as open sources. Data from United Nations agencies on their humanitarian deliveries have been reported for the period from 1 to 30 April 2016. More recent data have been included when available.
II. Major developments
A. Developments on the ground
3. While the cessation of hostilities continued to reduce levels of violence in some areas during the reporting period, the overall increase in fighting resulted in a significant rise in the number of civilian casualties and in the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, markets and schools. Cross-line inter-agency convoys provided assistance to 377,750 civilians in besieged, hard-to-reach and priority cross-line areas in April. That included food assistance to 41.9 per cent of those in besieged areas, representing a considerable increase over previous months. The United Nations and its partners reached 781,425 of the approximately 4.6 million civilians in need living in those areas through cross-line inter-agency operations between 1 January and 13 May 2016. Clearly, much more access needs to be granted to reach those in besieged, hard-to-reach and priority cross-line areas.
4. In line with resolution 2258 (2015), the following brief description of developments on the ground contains information on compliance by all parties in the Syrian Arab Republic with resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014) and 2191 (2014). The information is provided without prejudice to the work of the International Syria Support Group Task Force on the Ceasefire.
5. Based on information received by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the killing of civilians and other abuses and violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law during the reporting period rose sharply after a period of relative calm the previous month. Much of the violence occurred in the last two weeks of April, particularly in Aleppo, Idlib, Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Dar‘a, Homs, Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr governorates. OHCHR documented attacks by all parties to the conflict, including government forces, non-State armed opposition groups and designated terrorist groups.
6. Aleppo governorate, and Aleppo city in particular, witnessed heavy fighting during the reporting period. OHCHR documented the alleged killing of at least 184 civilians and injury to hundreds more in Aleppo city in April. On 23 April, information collected by OHCHR indicates that 12 civilians, including a child, were killed in an air strike that hit a local market and a residential building in eastern Aleppo. On 25 April, OHCHR reported that at least 12 civilians, including 6 children, were killed and at least another 100 civilians injured when mortars struck the government-held neighbourhoods of western Aleppo city. On 27 April, the Al-Quds hospital located in the non-State armed opposition group-controlled Sukkari neighbourhood was hit, which resulted in the death of at least 22 civilians, including 3 doctors and 2 children. On the same day, the Ibn Rushd hospital in government-held western Aleppo was reportedly damaged by attacks, with no casualties reported. OHCHR received reports that on 28 April air strikes on non-State armed opposition group-controlled areas of east Aleppo city reportedly resulted in the death of at least 31 civilians and more than 50 injured. According to OHCHR, further air strikes on eastern parts of Aleppo city on 29 April allegedly killed at least 48 civilians and injured another 60 civilians.
7. Ongoing fighting in the north of Aleppo governorate resulted in large population movements and a number of civilian deaths. Fighting between Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and both non-State armed opposition groups and Syrian forces resulted in more than 40,000 people being displaced around the town of I‘zaz, near the Turkish border. That included some 35,989 individuals from settlements and surrounding areas, with 7 of the 12 camps in the area abandoned or almost empty. On 25 April, an air strike on Atarib hit a training centre of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Syria Civil Defence, reportedly killing five first responders. Fighting in the south and west of Aleppo between the Government, non-State armed opposition groups and designated terrorist groups, particularly around the town of Khan Tuman, began on 19 April and continued throughout the month.