Lowest Monthly Death Toll in 9 Years of Syria War

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the refugee camp near Atimah village, Idlib province, Syria, September 11 ,2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the refugee camp near Atimah village, Idlib province, Syria, September 11 ,2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo/File Photo
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Lowest Monthly Death Toll in 9 Years of Syria War

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the refugee camp near Atimah village, Idlib province, Syria, September 11 ,2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the refugee camp near Atimah village, Idlib province, Syria, September 11 ,2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo/File Photo

The war in Syria killed 103 civilians in March, marking the lowest monthly non-combatant death toll since the start of the conflict in 2011, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday.

Of the total deaths, some 51 people were killed in shelling and air strikes by the Syrian regime, Agence France Presse quoted the Observatory as saying.

The bulk of the remaining casualties were caused either by explosive remnants or mysterious "assassinations", the Observatory added.

The civilian death toll was more than double that of March in February, when a regime offensive on Syria's last major opposition bastion was still in full swing.

According to the Observatory, the number of deaths that month stood at 275.

The war in Syria has left more than 380,000 people dead since it started nine years ago.

The highest civilian death toll recorded in a month since the start of the conflict was 1,590 in July 2016, when battles between opposition fighters and the regime raged in the northern province of Aleppo.

The United Nations has appealed for a nationwide ceasefire to tackle the novel coronavirus threat, while aid groups have warned of a health catastrophe if the pandemic hits overcrowded displacement camps or crammed regime prisons.



Israeli Gunfire Hits Perimeter of UN Peacekeeping Post in Lebanon, UNIFIL Says

A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Israeli Gunfire Hits Perimeter of UN Peacekeeping Post in Lebanon, UNIFIL Says

A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Wednesday that direct fire from the Israeli army had hit the perimeter of one of its peacekeeping positions in south Lebanon.

In a statement, UNIFIL said the incident on Tuesday was the first of its kind since Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last November.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the incident, in which UNIFIL said one of its bases in the village of Kfar Shouba in southern Lebanon was hit.

"In recent days, UNIFIL has also observed other aggressive behavior by the Israeli military towards peacekeepers performing operational activities in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701," it said, referring to a UN resolution originally adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Tuesday's incident occurred near the Blue Line, a UN-mapped demarcation separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Any unauthorized crossing of the Blue Line by land or by air from any side constitutes a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

UNIFIL cited other alleged incidents it blamed on the Israeli army, including being targeted by lasers while it was performing a patrol with the Lebanese army in the southern border town of Maroun al-Ras on Tuesday.

Israel has continued to occasionally strike areas in south Lebanon, saying that it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. It has also struck the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut several times.

The ceasefire terms require that neither Hezbollah nor any other armed group have weapons in areas near the border south of the Litani River, which flows into the Mediterranean some 20 km (12 miles) north of the Israeli border.

They require Israel to withdraw troops from the south and that the Lebanese army deploy into the border region.

Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of failing to fully implement the deal. Israel still occupies five hilltop positions in the south. Rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards Israel twice, though Hezbollah denied any role.

Israel killed thousands of Hezbollah fighters in the war, destroyed much of its arsenal and eliminated its top leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah.

The war spiraled after Hezbollah opened fire at the beginning of the Gaza war, declaring solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas.