Syria death toll from barrel bombs nears 2000 this year

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barrel bomb syria
People inspect an unexploded barrel bomb Jan. 19 on a street in Aleppo, Syria.

Barrel bombs dropped by Syrian government forces on rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo have killed nearly 2,000 people so far this year, an activist group has said.

Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, one of the main groups counting the dead in the three-year-long conflict, said on Friday that there were 1,963 deaths in 2014 from barrel bombs in Aleppo, including 283 women and 567 people under the age of 18.

The crude bombs are shrapnel-packed explosive devices that Syrian forces have been rolling out of helicopters over rebel-held neighbourhoods. Hundreds of kilograms of explosives and scraps of metal are packed into the containers, or barrels, with the intention to cause massive damage on impact, the Associated Press news agency reported.

According to the Observatory, an average of 14 people die every day in Aleppo because of barrel bombs.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Bab al-Hawa at the Turkish-Syrian border, said that the government had stepped up indiscriminate air attacks in the northern city of Idlib as well.

“The government’s military strategy could be to push rebels back or to depopulate areas. More importantly, to drive a wedge between the rebels and the people, telling them if they support the rebels, this is the punishment,” she said.

Khodr said that preventing the rebels from being able to govern on the ground could also be another government objective.

A UN Security Council resolution adopted in February demanded, among other things, a halt to all attacks on civilians in Syria and indiscriminate shelling and aerial bombardment, including the use of barrel bombs in populated areas.

In March, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said it used satellite imagery to identify at least 340 places in rebel-controlled areas of Aleppo that were damaged between early November and February 20. The majority of the sites bore signatures of damage consistent with barrel bombs, it said.

The grim figure is the latest addition to the deadly tally from Syria’s civil war, which has killed more than 162,000 people, according to activists.

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and once its commercial centre, has been carved into rebel- and government-controlled areas since opposition fighters launched an offensive there in mid-2012.

 

Al Jazeera

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10 responses to “Syria death toll from barrel bombs nears 2000 this year”

  1. Guest Avatar

    Barrel bombs are made in Iran and they have been provided to both Assad in Syria and Maliki in Iraq by Iran.

  2. The real lebanese Avatar
    The real lebanese

    What a criminal!

    1. Farq2 Avatar

      Go look at what your f@#king country has done in the ME and not to mention Libya, Pakistan and Africa, then you will know what a criminal really is. Or is that what you would call in the US collateral damage. The US or it’s citizens have no rite ever call anybody a criminal. I look forward to your spin on this one.

      1. The real lebanese Avatar
        The real lebanese

        I never said anything about the US Habibti do you need some mydol? Would you really say keeping ghadafi or the Taliban in power would’ve been a good thing? Pakistan is better off now than it would be had the US not intervened at the request of the Pakistani gov. And you would support Ghaddafi moldering his own people just as you support Assad murdering his own people. The al qaeda threat is everywhere in the ME where there is a gov vacuum. The key is to transfer power quickly.Assad has made sure this doesnt happen.

        1. Farq2 Avatar

          That’s problem my friend, you never seem to mention the atrocities the US have caused. Only the ones that the US;s enemies have caused. I wonder why that is. I ask you one question, Have a look at ALL the countries the US has intervened in and whether you think they were better off before or after. I’m asking even though I already know your response.

          1. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            The countries that would’ve done better without US intervention are the countries the US pulls out of before the job is complete. Afghanistan will return to Taliban rule shortly after all us troops are out and it will be as if the Us was never there. Iraq is borderline. Libya didnt need US troops due to a quick power transfer. US pulled out of Vietnam due to popular support during the hippie movement and is ruled by a one party dictatorship to this day. The US stayed in South Korea long enough to strengthen their military capability and they are now able to deter any threat from North Korea. Any other countries you would like me to explain?

          2. Farq2 Avatar

            And all that raving on with no answer. That’s because you know the rite answer however don’t want to admit it. Typical yank.

          3. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            Stop complaining because you know im right. I asked you if you need any more countries you need me to explain so i dont need you to leave one of your comments that have nothing to do with political thats all you seem to turn to when I prove you wrong.

          4. Farq2 Avatar

            See what you peace loving nation really is Real. Or should I say terrorist loving.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5SNd4Mwiuo

          5. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            I already know the US ‘created’ al qaeda. It was to fight Soviet occupation but was taken over by Takfiri fanatics. Anything else you would like to tell me?

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