UN rights panel demands immediate end to Syria bloodshed

Geneva, March 19 (IANS/WAM) As the civil war in Syria enters its fourth year, a UN-appointed human rights panel has said the fighting has driven some nine million civilians from their homes and has reduced many of those who remain to scavenging.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic - appointed by the UN Human Rights Council - Tuesday presented in Geneva a detailed report on the living conditions of men and women in the region and outlined a list of individuals - on all sides - believed to be responsible for crimes against humanity.

"The lives of over 100,000 people have been extinguished. Those freed from detention now live with the physical and mental scars of torture. The fate and whereabouts of thousands more remain unknown," said Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chair of the Commission.

According to the report, nearly nine million people - a third of the population - have fled their homes. In addition to the 2.5 million refugees in other countries, there are an estimated 6.5 million internally displaced people inside Syria, and millions more living in enclaves surrounded by violence.

"This is the tragic reality of the Syrian war," stated Pinheiro in his presentation, adding that "no one can claim ignorance of what is going on".

Drawing attention to the starvation endured by civilians, the repeated acts of terrorism they face everyday, and ever growing complexity of the battlefield, the panel deplored the lack of action by the international community.

"Compassion does not and should not suffice," insisted Pinheiro, adding that "we cannot continue to sit for years in these rooms, writing reports and making speeches lamenting the blood that is running in Syria's streets".

--IANS/WAM

ab/dg