UN: No knowledge of desplacement in Darayya

UN: No knowledge of desplacement in Darayya
Citizens forced to leave their hometown after an agreement between Assad regime and the rebels in Darayya

The UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that the situation in Darayya was seriously grave and the UN did not take part in the negotiations which resulted in the truce.

De Mistura also said that the international organization was not consulted in the implementation of Darayya truce.

De Mistura, who met with the US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday, said the situation in Daraya was “extremely grave and tragic” and that “the repeated appeals to lift the siege of Daraya have not been headed”.

He regretted the fact that Assad regime did not respond to calls of lifting the siege which had been laid on the city since November 2012, according to a statement passed by the office of the UN envoy.

The statement also reiterated on the necessity of protecting civilians in Darayya during the evacuation which has to be conducted voluntarily.

“The UN humanitarian team is holding contacts with all parties, including the locals of Darayya; and the whole world is monitoring the situation,” the UN Radio said.

advocacy adviser Charmain Mohamed of the Norwegian Refugee Council said although the end of hostiles in the town was a positive step, her team was “concerned about the protection of civilians” and that any evacuations “should be voluntary in nature”.

“There should be absolutely unfettered humanitarian access, and civilians should be protected, according to
international humanitarian law”.

This is what remains of Darayya after 4 years of siege and daily bombardment by Assad regime
This is what remains of Darayya after 4 years of siege and daily bombardment by Assad regime
This is what remains of Darayya after 4 years of siege and daily bombardment by Assad regime
This is what remains of Darayya after 4 years of siege and daily bombardment by Assad regime

Read more: New “achievement” for the UN in Darayya


Darayya town became known as a center for the opposition from the start of the uprising against Assad, which later turned into a war. “Darayya was one of the very first towns to go against Assad. We started very early and we were so peaceful, we didn’t take the choice of raising arms for a full year,” said Kholoud Waleed, an activist from the town who now lives in exile.

The town was also the site of a notorious massacre by government forces almost four years to the day before the surrender was agreed. They stormed in to make house-to-house searches, and left hundreds dead in one of the worst killing sprees of the war.

For four years, Darayya was under daily attacks by Assad regime. Assad regime forces tried to take the city on the ground while Assad regime’s air force bombed the city daily. Darayya city is called “The capital of barrel bombs” as these was the most used weapons agaisnt the civilians besieged in the city.

The surrender and evacuation of the Damascus suburb after a brutal four-year siege is a devastating blow to opposition morale and a long-sought prize for Assad. Weeks of intense bombardment, which activists claim included napalm attacks, has finally overwhelmed the rebels and forces them to sign surrender, while the world stands watching the civilians being displaced.