UN warns over protection of Syrian civilians

Neither side in the Syrian civil war is doing enough to protect civilians, the UN Human Rights Council said today.

In an update, the Geneva-based council said some 2.5 million Syrians have been internally displaced and a further million have fled the country as refugees.

It added that “failure to resolve this increasingly violent conflict will condemn Syria, the region and the millions of civilians caught in the crossfire to an unimaginably bleak future”.

It said government forces are targeting civilians in bakery queues and funeral processions, while anti-government forces continue to use protected locations, such as mosques, as bases or for weapons storage.

The council said both sides are showing “insufficient respect for the protection of the civilian population”.

The update report covered January 15 to March 3.