World News in Brief: Syria families executed, Duterte arrested on ICC warrant, Sudan’s healthcare collapse

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Days of violence against Syria’s mainly ethnic Alawite communities have included the summary execution of entire families, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, confirmed on Tuesday. 

Speaking in Geneva, OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said that 111 people have been confirmed dead so far.

Media reports indicate the true death toll may be closer to 1,000 after security forces allied with Syria’s Caretaker Authorities allegedly targeted communities in coastal areas that represent the former regional powerbase of ousted President Bashar Al Assad.

“Many of the cases documented were of summary executions,” Mr. Al-Kheetan told journalists.“They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis, in Tartus, Latakia and Hama governorates – reportedly by unidentified armed individuals, members of armed groups allegedly supporting the caretaker authorities’ security forces, and by elements associated with the former government.”

According to many testimonies collected by OHCHR, attackers raided houses, asking residents whether they were Alawite or Sunni before either killing them or sparing them.

“Some survivors told us that many men were shot dead in front of their families,” Mr. Al-Kheetan said.

The OHCHR spokesperson said that hospitals had also come under attack with patients, doctors and medical students targeted.

Agreement with Kurdish-led forces welcomed

The UN has welcomed the agreement signed by the leaderships of the Caretaker Authorities in Syria and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that took place on Monday.

The SDF was a powerful part of the armed opposition to the former Assad regime, holding a large swathe of territory in Syria’s northeast. The deal will reportedly see fighting units integrated within the national army and recognises the Kurds as integral to the State.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, expressed hope that the deal will boost support and feed into a broader, credible and inclusive political transition process, in line with the key principles of Security Council resolution 2254, that leads to a new constitution, and free and fair elections.

Aid deliveries continue

On the humanitarian front, delivery of cross-border assistance from Türkiye into northwest Syria is continuing, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing journalists in New York.                

Around 31 trucks from the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and refugee agency, UNHCR, went through the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Türkiye into Syria, delivering more than 600 metric tons of supplies, including food, shelter repair and hygiene kits, he added.  

“This very much needed aid comes as we and our partners continue to try to mobilize assistance for people in need, including for those displaced by the recent violence.”  

UN rights office hails courage of relatives of Duterte’s ‘drug war’ victims

The former President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has been arrested and taken into custody in Manila in line with a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

UN Photo/Manuel Elías

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (on screen) of the Philippines addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventy-fifth session.

The ICC is not a UN organization but has a cooperation agreement with the United Nations.

The court has been investigating the crackdown on drugs implemented by the former President, which the UN rights office, OHCHR, repeatedly condemned while he was in office, from 2016 to 2022.

One OHCHR report found credible allegations of widespread and systematic extrajudicial killings, carried out during the so-called “war on drugs”, along with arbitrary detention and almost total impunity for the violations.

Speaking in Geneva, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that it was crucial to address such impunity and to protect victims and witnesses from reprisals and retributions.

She praised the “great courage” of the families of those killed in the war on drugs in seeking justice and noted that only four cases have so far resulted in convictions following appeals.

Dire conditions continue for civilians in need of healthcare in Sudan

Humanitarian partners in Sudan’s war-ravaged North Darfur are reporting “extremely dire” conditions facing civilians in need of healthcare, particularly in the state capital of El Fasher and displacement camps in surrounding areas. 

Sudan’s transitional military Government clashed with former allies the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, nearly two years ago, beginning a struggle for control of the country together with allied armed groups, which has left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced.

Currently, more than 200 health facilities in El Fasher are not functioning, and there are severe shortages of medical staff and critical shortages of medical supplies, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

Healthcare system overwhelmed

“Our humanitarian colleagues are telling us that the continued hostilities have caused waves of displacement, overwhelming an already fragile healthcare system that is struggling even to meet people’s basic needs,” he added.

“On top of that, the insecurity and access constraints continue to impede our partners’ attempts to provide essential medical supplies.”

Disease outbreaks are also deepening the humanitarian crisis.

Across areas impacted by fighting, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that over 70 per cent of hospitals and health facilities are no longer operational, leaving millions without healthcare, said the UN Spokesperson.

“Sudan’s health system has also come under relentless attack. As of mid-February, WHO recorded nearly 150 attacks on health care centres in Sudan since the war there began – but the real figure is most likely be far higher.”