This was first posted on 30 March 2015 at NFZ Syria. I am reposting it now five years later as Labour’s new leader Keir Starmer has just brought Ed Miliband back to Labour’s front bench.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 April 2020
Sunday, 30 December 2018
Machiavelli on Brexit
From Discourses on Livy, Book 1, Chapter 53.
The People, Deceived by a False Kind of Good, Often Desire Their Own Ruin, and How Great Hopes and Bold Promises Easily Move Them
...
Here, two things should be noted. The first is that very often the people, deceived by a false image of good, desire their own ruin, and unless someone they can trust can make them capable of distinguishing the good from the bad, this will bring endless danger and damage to republics. When fate decrees that the people will have faith in no one, as sometimes occurs, after they have been deceived in the past either by events or by men, this inevitably leads to ruin. In this regard Dante declares ... that the people frequently cry out: ‘Long live’ their death and ‘Death’ to their life.
...
Thus, turning to consider when it is easy and when it is difficult to persuade a people, this distinction can be made: either what you have to persuade them of represents at first sight either a gain or a loss, or the proposal truly seems either courageous or cowardly. When profit is seen in matters put before the people, even though there may be a loss concealed beneath them, or when something sesems courageous, even though the ruination of the republic may be concealed beneath it, it will always be easy to persuade the crowd to follow, and thus, it will always be difficult to persuade them to accept those decisions that appear to involve either cowardice or loss, even though salvation and profit may be concealed beneath them.
...
I must say, therefore, that there is no easier way to ruin a republic where the people have power than to involve them in bold enterprises, because wherever the people have any importance whatsoever, such proposals will always be accepted, and anyone of a contrary opinion will have no way to prevent this. But if this gives rise to the city’s ruin, it even more frequently gives rise to the ruin of particular citizens who are put in charge of such undertakings, because once the people have taken victory for granted, when defeat arrives, neither fortune nor the incompetence of the commander is blamed but, rather, his wickedness and ignorance, and the people usually either kill or imprison or banish him, as happened to countless Carthiginian and Athenian generals.
Taken from Julia Conway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella’s translation of Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy, published in Oxford World’s Classics.
The People, Deceived by a False Kind of Good, Often Desire Their Own Ruin, and How Great Hopes and Bold Promises Easily Move Them
...
Here, two things should be noted. The first is that very often the people, deceived by a false image of good, desire their own ruin, and unless someone they can trust can make them capable of distinguishing the good from the bad, this will bring endless danger and damage to republics. When fate decrees that the people will have faith in no one, as sometimes occurs, after they have been deceived in the past either by events or by men, this inevitably leads to ruin. In this regard Dante declares ... that the people frequently cry out: ‘Long live’ their death and ‘Death’ to their life.
...
Thus, turning to consider when it is easy and when it is difficult to persuade a people, this distinction can be made: either what you have to persuade them of represents at first sight either a gain or a loss, or the proposal truly seems either courageous or cowardly. When profit is seen in matters put before the people, even though there may be a loss concealed beneath them, or when something sesems courageous, even though the ruination of the republic may be concealed beneath it, it will always be easy to persuade the crowd to follow, and thus, it will always be difficult to persuade them to accept those decisions that appear to involve either cowardice or loss, even though salvation and profit may be concealed beneath them.
...
I must say, therefore, that there is no easier way to ruin a republic where the people have power than to involve them in bold enterprises, because wherever the people have any importance whatsoever, such proposals will always be accepted, and anyone of a contrary opinion will have no way to prevent this. But if this gives rise to the city’s ruin, it even more frequently gives rise to the ruin of particular citizens who are put in charge of such undertakings, because once the people have taken victory for granted, when defeat arrives, neither fortune nor the incompetence of the commander is blamed but, rather, his wickedness and ignorance, and the people usually either kill or imprison or banish him, as happened to countless Carthiginian and Athenian generals.
Taken from Julia Conway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella’s translation of Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy, published in Oxford World’s Classics.
Monday, 9 April 2018
Dangers of believing in your own virtue
One of the recent defences of Labour under Jeremy Corbyn on the issue of antisemitism has been to point to a report by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, and to suggest that its finding of prejudice being worse on the Far Right than the Far Left means that the problem in Labour is exaggerated.
My first thought on this was to question was whether the study was accurate, as other survey work a couple of years ago suggested the Far Left did mirror the Far Right in anti-Jewish views.
But then I also thought, what if the Institute for Jewish Policy Research numbers are accurate in showing fewer people with antisemitic views on the Far Left than the Far Right? If there are no more antisemites on the Far Left than anywhere else, why does Labour have a problem dealing with them?
We all have similar biases of over-rating our own judgement, and of seeking confirmation of our already existing views. Where we strongly identify with a group, these biases get reinforced by the group.
A problem for groups with a strong belief in their own collective virtue is that their confirmation bias renders them incapable of recognising vice within the group, so even though perpetrators of vice may be fewer inside the group than out, they can thrive more easily.
For example the number of people with paedophile tendencies may be no greater inside a religious group than outside, but they can thrive more easily inside because the group’s strong belief in its own virtue makes it harder for it to recognise the problem.
The more a group and the individuals within it believe in their own virtue, the harder the problem is to deal with. To say “I am an anti-racist” or “he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body” (a bizarre expression) and therefore conclude “I am not capable of racism” or “he is not capable of racism” is to be in denial about human nature, human fallibility, the complexities of human thought and human behaviour.
When this kind of thinking becomes applied to a group, even victims of prejudice within the group may find themselves incapable of recognising that prejudice because of their belief in the virtue of the group. This is how a cult functions.
So with Corbyn loyalists, we see a difficulty in recognising any instance of antisemitism amongst their own group.
A logical deduction from the knowledge that antisemitism exists throughout society would be for Corbyn supporters to expect that it also exists to a similar degree amongst their own number, but their strong belief in their own collective virtue—embodied in their belief in the virtue of their leader—means that their first reactions when faced with an accusation are:
It’s notable that the recent report about supporters of Jeremy Corbyn attempting to block action against Labour members facing complaints also included an instance of trying to block expulsion of a member accused of using a racial slur against a Black candidate.
The greater the Corbynistas’ belief in their own virtue becomes, the harder it will be for them to recognise any vice amongst their own, not just the vice of antisemitism.
It won’t matter if there are no more antisemites, racists, misogynists, or xenophobes inside Labour than outside, the number that are there will find greater protection inside Labour than elsewhere.
My first thought on this was to question was whether the study was accurate, as other survey work a couple of years ago suggested the Far Left did mirror the Far Right in anti-Jewish views.
But then I also thought, what if the Institute for Jewish Policy Research numbers are accurate in showing fewer people with antisemitic views on the Far Left than the Far Right? If there are no more antisemites on the Far Left than anywhere else, why does Labour have a problem dealing with them?
We all have similar biases of over-rating our own judgement, and of seeking confirmation of our already existing views. Where we strongly identify with a group, these biases get reinforced by the group.
A problem for groups with a strong belief in their own collective virtue is that their confirmation bias renders them incapable of recognising vice within the group, so even though perpetrators of vice may be fewer inside the group than out, they can thrive more easily.
For example the number of people with paedophile tendencies may be no greater inside a religious group than outside, but they can thrive more easily inside because the group’s strong belief in its own virtue makes it harder for it to recognise the problem.
The more a group and the individuals within it believe in their own virtue, the harder the problem is to deal with. To say “I am an anti-racist” or “he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body” (a bizarre expression) and therefore conclude “I am not capable of racism” or “he is not capable of racism” is to be in denial about human nature, human fallibility, the complexities of human thought and human behaviour.
When this kind of thinking becomes applied to a group, even victims of prejudice within the group may find themselves incapable of recognising that prejudice because of their belief in the virtue of the group. This is how a cult functions.
So with Corbyn loyalists, we see a difficulty in recognising any instance of antisemitism amongst their own group.
A logical deduction from the knowledge that antisemitism exists throughout society would be for Corbyn supporters to expect that it also exists to a similar degree amongst their own number, but their strong belief in their own collective virtue—embodied in their belief in the virtue of their leader—means that their first reactions when faced with an accusation are:
- This can’t be true because our leader is a man of virtue;
- This must be a dishonest attack by political enemies;
- This must be anti-Zionism falsely portrayed as antisemitism—even if the accusation has nothing to do with Israel.
It’s notable that the recent report about supporters of Jeremy Corbyn attempting to block action against Labour members facing complaints also included an instance of trying to block expulsion of a member accused of using a racial slur against a Black candidate.
The greater the Corbynistas’ belief in their own virtue becomes, the harder it will be for them to recognise any vice amongst their own, not just the vice of antisemitism.
It won’t matter if there are no more antisemites, racists, misogynists, or xenophobes inside Labour than outside, the number that are there will find greater protection inside Labour than elsewhere.
Sunday, 26 June 2016
The legacy of Syria
THE EU VOTE AND UK POLITICAL FAILURE ON SYRIA
Cross-posted from Syria Solidarity UK
David Cameron now has little time to right a shared legacy of failure on Syria.
Reasons for the UK’s narrow vote to leave the EU are many. One is Syria: Both the Leave campaign and UKIP connected fears over immigration to the Syrian crisis. Assad’s war against Syria’s population has created the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.
In or out of the EU, we have a duty to care for refugees. We also need to understand that this refugee crisis is not caused by EU rules on free movement; it’s caused by the failure of world leaders, including Britain’s leaders, to stop Assad.
Inaction has consequences. At every point when world leaders failed to act against Assad, the impact of the Syrian crisis on the world increased. The failure of British Government and Opposition leaders on the EU vote is in part a consequence of their failure on Syria, but this story doesn’t end with today’s result. Without action, Syria’s crisis will continue to impact on us all.
Leaders failed to act in October 2011 when Syrians took to the streets calling for a no-fly zone.
By the end of 2011 there were 8,000 Syrian refugees in the region.
Leaders failed to act in 2012 when journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were killed reporting from the horror of besieged Homs.
By the end of 2012, there were nearly half a million Syrian refugees.
Leaders failed to act in 2013 when the Assad regime massacred as many as 1,700 civilians in one morning with chemical weapons. That August, there were 1.8 million registered Syrian refugees.
Also in 2013, the UK failed to act when the Free Syrian Army faced attacks by ISIS forces infiltrating from Iraq. Instead of strengthening the FSA to withstand this new threat, UK MPs denied moderate forces the means to defend themselves.
By the end of 2013, there were 2.3 million registered Syrian refugees.
Leaders failed to act in 2014 as the Assad regime ignored UN resolutions on barrel bombing, on torturing and besieging civilians. Diplomacy without military pressure only emboldened Assad to continue the slaughter.
By the end of 2014, there were 3.7 million Syrian refugees.
Leaders failed to act in 2015 as Russia joined Assad in bombing hospitals, humanitarian aid convoys, and rescue workers, and Syrians were denied any means to defend themselves.
By the end of 2015, there were over 4.5 million Syrian refugees.
Now the UK Government is failing to act as Assad breaks ceasefire agreements and breaks deadlines on letting aid into besieged communities. The UK has failed to deliver on airdrops. The UK has failed to apply serious pressure to stop Assad’s bombs.
There are now 4.8 million Syrian refugees in the region. There are many millions more displaced inside Syria. Just over a million Syrians have applied for asylum in Europe, but that is a fraction of the total who have fled their homes.
The refugee crisis is just one impact of Assad’s war on Syrians. Voting to leave the European Union won’t insulate Britain from further effects of Syria’s man-made disaster. This crisis can’t be contained and must be brought to an end, and it can only end with the end of Assad.
Act now. Break the sieges. Stop the bombs. Stop the torture. Stop Assad.
Cross-posted from Syria Solidarity UK
David Cameron now has little time to right a shared legacy of failure on Syria.
Reasons for the UK’s narrow vote to leave the EU are many. One is Syria: Both the Leave campaign and UKIP connected fears over immigration to the Syrian crisis. Assad’s war against Syria’s population has created the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.
In or out of the EU, we have a duty to care for refugees. We also need to understand that this refugee crisis is not caused by EU rules on free movement; it’s caused by the failure of world leaders, including Britain’s leaders, to stop Assad.
Inaction has consequences. At every point when world leaders failed to act against Assad, the impact of the Syrian crisis on the world increased. The failure of British Government and Opposition leaders on the EU vote is in part a consequence of their failure on Syria, but this story doesn’t end with today’s result. Without action, Syria’s crisis will continue to impact on us all.
Leaders failed to act in October 2011 when Syrians took to the streets calling for a no-fly zone.
By the end of 2011 there were 8,000 Syrian refugees in the region.
Leaders failed to act in 2012 when journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were killed reporting from the horror of besieged Homs.
By the end of 2012, there were nearly half a million Syrian refugees.
Leaders failed to act in 2013 when the Assad regime massacred as many as 1,700 civilians in one morning with chemical weapons. That August, there were 1.8 million registered Syrian refugees.
Also in 2013, the UK failed to act when the Free Syrian Army faced attacks by ISIS forces infiltrating from Iraq. Instead of strengthening the FSA to withstand this new threat, UK MPs denied moderate forces the means to defend themselves.
By the end of 2013, there were 2.3 million registered Syrian refugees.
Leaders failed to act in 2014 as the Assad regime ignored UN resolutions on barrel bombing, on torturing and besieging civilians. Diplomacy without military pressure only emboldened Assad to continue the slaughter.
By the end of 2014, there were 3.7 million Syrian refugees.
Leaders failed to act in 2015 as Russia joined Assad in bombing hospitals, humanitarian aid convoys, and rescue workers, and Syrians were denied any means to defend themselves.
By the end of 2015, there were over 4.5 million Syrian refugees.
Now the UK Government is failing to act as Assad breaks ceasefire agreements and breaks deadlines on letting aid into besieged communities. The UK has failed to deliver on airdrops. The UK has failed to apply serious pressure to stop Assad’s bombs.
There are now 4.8 million Syrian refugees in the region. There are many millions more displaced inside Syria. Just over a million Syrians have applied for asylum in Europe, but that is a fraction of the total who have fled their homes.
The refugee crisis is just one impact of Assad’s war on Syrians. Voting to leave the European Union won’t insulate Britain from further effects of Syria’s man-made disaster. This crisis can’t be contained and must be brought to an end, and it can only end with the end of Assad.
Act now. Break the sieges. Stop the bombs. Stop the torture. Stop Assad.
Friday, 29 April 2016
Springtime for Corbyn
I think I've hit on something. Jeremy Corbyn was a down on his luck MP hoping still hoping for one big hit...
— Padraig Reidy (@mePadraigReidy) April 28, 2016
his friend and money guy, John, pointed out that if you got 1,000s of people to join a political party for a small amount of money...
— Padraig Reidy (@mePadraigReidy) April 28, 2016
...and then the party crashes, you don't have to pay their money back. So, what's the easiest way of killing a social democratic party?
— Padraig Reidy (@mePadraigReidy) April 28, 2016
Easy. You make it sound like a Nazi party. So they dig up this crazy guy called Ken, who's widely known as the worst social democrat ever...
— Padraig Reidy (@mePadraigReidy) April 28, 2016
...and you put him centre stage, watch the fallout, and wait for those 1,000s of sweet three-pounders to leave, leaving their cash with you
— Padraig Reidy (@mePadraigReidy) April 28, 2016
Corbyn and McDonnell are basically trying out the scam from the Producers. But they don't seem to have seen the whole film.
— Padraig Reidy (@mePadraigReidy) April 28, 2016
Saturday, 12 September 2015
London’s refugee march on Twitter
Peter Tatchell demonstrated how to present a clear message:
But his effort wasn’t matched by co-organiser Syria Solidarity UK. It was easier to see Stop The War placards than Syria Solidarity ones. And Stop The War’s visual message was clear.
From Amnesty activist Kristyan Benedict:
From Syrian blogger Maysaloon:
From Mauritanian-American activist Weddady:
From an Assad apologist:
UPDATE – here is Clara’s excellent speech that so annoyed Mr Winstanley:
At #RefugeesWelcome rally in London. #Assad & #ISIS kill Syrians. We welcome them. UN no-fly zone to stop Assad bombs pic.twitter.com/bHo7xG5WN8
— Peter Tatchell (@PeterTatchell) September 12, 2015
But his effort wasn’t matched by co-organiser Syria Solidarity UK. It was easier to see Stop The War placards than Syria Solidarity ones. And Stop The War’s visual message was clear.
From Amnesty activist Kristyan Benedict:
"Don't bomb Syria" signs next to revolution flags at London's #refugeeswelcome demo. (Their message isn't for Assad) pic.twitter.com/EinQXI9PaR
— kristyan benedict (@KreaseChan) September 12, 2015
Shame that some will welcome a Syrian when they are a refugee but not when they are an anti regime activist trying not to become a refugee.
— kristyan benedict (@KreaseChan) September 12, 2015From Syrian blogger Maysaloon:
What exactly do people waving "don't bomb Syria" placards at the London rally for refugees think they are doing?
— Maysaloon (@Maysaloon) September 12, 2015
An how on earth is it Jeremy Corbyn's business to speak at a rally for a refugee crisis that Iran and Hezbullah helped to create?
— Maysaloon (@Maysaloon) September 12, 2015
From Mauritanian-American activist Weddady:
Forgive me for not being moved; these are the same ppl who demonstrated to let Assad continue killing Syria's people https://t.co/cQ20TcTxEk
— weddady (@weddady) September 12, 2015
From an Assad apologist:
Only one thing marred it: speech from "Syria Solidarity Movement" (she wasn't Syrian) called for bombing Syria ("no fly zone"). Classy.
— Asa Winstanley (@AsaWinstanley) September 12, 2015
.@SyriaUK Oh and p.s. the way you leeched onto Saturday's demo in support of refugees to call for bombing a country was vile
— Asa Winstanley (@AsaWinstanley) September 12, 2015
UPDATE – here is Clara’s excellent speech that so annoyed Mr Winstanley:
Friday, 17 April 2015
In this UK election, let’s talk about healthcare.
Cross-posted from Syria Solidarity UK.
Aftermath of regime attack on the Hilal Hospital belonging to the Syrian Red Crescent in the city of Idlib, March 29, 2015. Photo by Firas Taki/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.
In Syria, healthcare personnel, medical facilities, and ambulances are deliberately and routinely targeted as part of the military strategy of the Syrian government, according to a recent report by the Syrian American Medical Society.
At least 610 medical personnel have been killed, and there have been 233 deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on 183 medical facilities. The Syrian government is responsible for 88 percent of hospital attacks recorded by Physicians for Human Rights, and 97 percent of medical personnel killings, with 139 deaths directly attributed to torture or execution.
For people in Syria, life expectancy at birth has plunged from 75.9 years in 2010 to an estimated 55.7 years at the end of 2014, reducing longevity and life expectancy by 27 per cent, according to a March 2015 UN report.
Restoring healthcare in Syria depends on ending the worst of the violence. Dr Samer Attar wrote recently recently in the Wall Street Journal of his experiences as a volunteer surgeon in Aleppo, saying “no amount of humanitarian aid will offset the systematic and sustained slaughter of civilians.”
Reports:
Syria: From bad to worse, by Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, Head of Mission of the MSF team in Aleppo in 2014, MSF—Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders 7 January 2015.
Syrian Medical Voices from the Ground: The Ordeal of Syria’s Healthcare Professionals, February 2015 report(PDF) by the Syrian American Medical Society.
‘If the medics leave, the civilians will die’ – a UK doctor’s story from Syria, by Aisha Gani, The Guardian, 12 March 2015.
Syria: In a besieged hospital, sleeping and resting were an impossible luxury, by Dr. S, a young surgeon in a makeshift hospital east of Damascus, MSF—Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, 13 March 2015.
Syria field post: ‘I had to do procedures I’d never seen. YouTube helped a lot’, by Lubna Takruri, The Guardian 16 March 2015.
Doctors in the Crosshairs: Four Years of Attacks on Health Care in Syria, Physicians for Human Rights report, March 2015.
Syria: Alienation and Violence, Impact of the Syria Crisis (PDF) by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR), UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), UN Development Programme (UNDP), March 2015.
Aleppo Diary: The Carnage From Syrian Barrel Bombs, by Samer Attar, Wall Street Journal, 12 April 2015.
Read more: A manifesto for Syria
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
Aftermath of regime attack on the Hilal Hospital belonging to the Syrian Red Crescent in the city of Idlib, March 29, 2015. Photo by Firas Taki/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.
In Syria, healthcare personnel, medical facilities, and ambulances are deliberately and routinely targeted as part of the military strategy of the Syrian government, according to a recent report by the Syrian American Medical Society.
At least 610 medical personnel have been killed, and there have been 233 deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on 183 medical facilities. The Syrian government is responsible for 88 percent of hospital attacks recorded by Physicians for Human Rights, and 97 percent of medical personnel killings, with 139 deaths directly attributed to torture or execution.
For people in Syria, life expectancy at birth has plunged from 75.9 years in 2010 to an estimated 55.7 years at the end of 2014, reducing longevity and life expectancy by 27 per cent, according to a March 2015 UN report.
Restoring healthcare in Syria depends on ending the worst of the violence. Dr Samer Attar wrote recently recently in the Wall Street Journal of his experiences as a volunteer surgeon in Aleppo, saying “no amount of humanitarian aid will offset the systematic and sustained slaughter of civilians.”
Ask any doctor in Aleppo how to help them save lives and their first response is not more aid. They all say the same thing: “Stop the barrel bombs.” A year ago, I asked a doctor there what he would need if the bombings didn’t stop. “More body bags,” he said.
Reports:
Syria: From bad to worse, by Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, Head of Mission of the MSF team in Aleppo in 2014, MSF—Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders 7 January 2015.
Syrian Medical Voices from the Ground: The Ordeal of Syria’s Healthcare Professionals, February 2015 report(PDF) by the Syrian American Medical Society.
‘If the medics leave, the civilians will die’ – a UK doctor’s story from Syria, by Aisha Gani, The Guardian, 12 March 2015.
Syria: In a besieged hospital, sleeping and resting were an impossible luxury, by Dr. S, a young surgeon in a makeshift hospital east of Damascus, MSF—Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, 13 March 2015.
Syria field post: ‘I had to do procedures I’d never seen. YouTube helped a lot’, by Lubna Takruri, The Guardian 16 March 2015.
Doctors in the Crosshairs: Four Years of Attacks on Health Care in Syria, Physicians for Human Rights report, March 2015.
Syria: Alienation and Violence, Impact of the Syria Crisis (PDF) by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR), UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), UN Development Programme (UNDP), March 2015.
Aleppo Diary: The Carnage From Syrian Barrel Bombs, by Samer Attar, Wall Street Journal, 12 April 2015.
Read more: A manifesto for Syria
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
In this UK election, let’s talk about housing.
Cross-posted from Syria Solidarity UK.
Damaged buildings in Jouret al-Shayah, Homs, Syria, on February 2, 2013. Photo by Yazen Homsy/Reuters.
The city of Homs, pictured above, has seen some of the worst physical destruction of the past four years, but it is not alone. A March 2015 UN report used satellite imagery to record tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed across Syria. Some were hit by shelling or air attacks, others were levelled when the Assad regime demolished entire neighbourhoods considered sympathetic to the opposition. As thousands of families were driven from their homes, satellite photos also recorded the growth of refugee camps in surrounding countries. Mass graves of many of those who didn’t escape were also recorded in satellite images.
Full report: Four Years of Human Suffering: The Syria conflict as observed through satellite imagery (PDF) By UNITAR/UNOSAT, March 2015.
Report excerpts: A bird’s-eye view of war-torn Syria, Washington Post, 20 March 2015.
Over half of Syria’s population have been displaced. Over 4 million refugees have fled the country, over 3.9 million of them to neighbouring countries. In the space of a year, Zaatari camp in Jordan became the world’s second largest refugee camp and Jordan’s fourth largest city. The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is equal to at least a quarter of Lebanon’s population prior to the crisis.
António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, says one-tenth of Syrian refugees require resettlement, but for now UNHCR have called on governments to provide places for 130,000 of the most vulnerable people. To date less than 85,000 resettlement places have been confirmed. Norway has pledged to resettle 2,500, Sweden 2,700, and Germany has pledged places for 30,000.
The UK resettled just 143 people up to February of this year.
Read more: A manifesto for Syria
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
Damaged buildings in Jouret al-Shayah, Homs, Syria, on February 2, 2013. Photo by Yazen Homsy/Reuters.
The city of Homs, pictured above, has seen some of the worst physical destruction of the past four years, but it is not alone. A March 2015 UN report used satellite imagery to record tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed across Syria. Some were hit by shelling or air attacks, others were levelled when the Assad regime demolished entire neighbourhoods considered sympathetic to the opposition. As thousands of families were driven from their homes, satellite photos also recorded the growth of refugee camps in surrounding countries. Mass graves of many of those who didn’t escape were also recorded in satellite images.
Full report: Four Years of Human Suffering: The Syria conflict as observed through satellite imagery (PDF) By UNITAR/UNOSAT, March 2015.
Report excerpts: A bird’s-eye view of war-torn Syria, Washington Post, 20 March 2015.
Over half of Syria’s population have been displaced. Over 4 million refugees have fled the country, over 3.9 million of them to neighbouring countries. In the space of a year, Zaatari camp in Jordan became the world’s second largest refugee camp and Jordan’s fourth largest city. The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is equal to at least a quarter of Lebanon’s population prior to the crisis.
António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, says one-tenth of Syrian refugees require resettlement, but for now UNHCR have called on governments to provide places for 130,000 of the most vulnerable people. To date less than 85,000 resettlement places have been confirmed. Norway has pledged to resettle 2,500, Sweden 2,700, and Germany has pledged places for 30,000.
The UK resettled just 143 people up to February of this year.
Read more: A manifesto for Syria
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
In this UK election, let’s talk about our shared history.
Cross-posted from Syria Solidarity UK.
Photo: Firemen at work in bomb damaged street in London, after Saturday night raid, circa 1941. Source: US National Archives.
Over 67,000 British civilians were killed in the Second World War. Around 40,000 of them were killed by air raids.
When Hitler’s air force attacked, pilots from several other nations joined in defending Britain, including experienced fighter pilots from Poland and Czechoslovakia: the 303 “Kościuszko” Polish Fighter Squadron was amongst the most successful squadrons fighting in the Battle of Britain.
Today, more civilians have been killed in Syria than were killed in Britain in World War Two. The vast majority of them have been killed by the Assad regime: over 95% according to records collected by the Violations Documentation Center in Syria.
Today, no international pilots have come to defend Syrian civilians from Assad’s attacks. The US-led coalition is intervening in Syria, but not against Assad. He is free to bomb cities and towns and villages with Russian-supplied helicopters and Iranian jet aircraft. Two in five of all civilians killed last year were killed by Assad’s air attacks. Over half the women and children killed in 2014 were killed by Assad’s air force.
This month marks 70 years since Anne Frank was killed in the Holocaust. The Anne Frank Declaration is intended to draw from her life lessons for the present, not just memories of the past. It says:
On the last day of Parliament, the Coalition Government announced that they were joining the US-led effort to train Syrians to fight ISIS. Earlier it was reported that if re-elected the Conservatives intended to join US-led strikes against ISIS in Syria. Whatever the merits of these policies, they contained nothing to defend Syrian civilians from their greatest threat: the Assad regime. Assad and his allies are responsible for over 95% of killings of civilians. Assad’s forces continue to target civilians with barrel bombs, chlorine bombs, and Scud missiles.
The legal basis for joining US-led strikes against ISIS in Syria would be collective defence of the Republic of Iraq, not the humanitarian defence of Syrian civilians. It would not live up to David Cameron’s promise to “defend those who cannot defend themselves.” For that he would have to back action to stop Assad bombing civilians.
As for how well Ed Miliband is living up to his promise: Since he signed the Anne Frank Declaration, Ed Miliband has been talking about his August 2013 decision to block joint UK-US action in response to the Assad regime’s mass killing of civilians with Sarin chemical weapons. But in his telling of the story there was no mention of the men, women, and children poisoned. In his telling there was no mention of standing up to Assad, only of standing up to Obama.
Ed Miliband said that his decision in August 2013 proved that he is “tough enough” to be prime minister: “Hell yes.” Many of his supporters seem to agree, and “Hell yes” t-shirts have been produced, celebrating Ed Miliband’s toughness in helping get a mass-murdering regime off the hook.
Not that those supporters see it in quite that way. Jamie Glackin, Chair of Scottish Labour, denied that there was any connection between Ed Miliband’s “hell yes” phrase and the August 2013 chemical attack: “It’s got nothing to do with that. At all.”
But it has everything to do with that. Ed Miliband’s chosen anecdote to show toughness was to point to the time he prevented action against a mass-murdering dictatorship, one that gave refuge to a key Nazi war criminal, that has tortured its citizens on an industrial scale, that is inflicting starvation sieges on hundreds of thousands of people, that has driven half of the population from their homes, four million of them driven out of the country as refugees, and that has continued killing civilians in their tens of thousands since Ed Miliband said “no” to action.
When asked about the consequent events in Syria, Ed Miliband avoided taking any responsibility. “It’s a failure of the international community,” he said. But we are the international community. The UK is a key member of the international community, one of only five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and one of only three functioning democracies amongst those five. When Ed Miliband blocked UK action, the consequences were critical.
Anne Frank was 15 years old when she was killed in the Holocaust. You can read more about her at the Anne Frank Trust, and at the Anne Frank House museum.
According to a November 2013 report by the Oxford Research Group, Stolen Futures: The hidden toll of child casualties in Syria, 128 children were recorded amongst the killed in the Ghouta chemical attack: 65 girls and 63 boys.
Something of two of those girls, Fatima Ghorra, three years old, and her sister, Hiba Ghorra, four years old, is told by Hisham Ashkar here.
The names of 54 of the girls killed are listed by the Violations Documentation Center in Syria. For some, clicking on a name will give a little more information, such as a photograph of one in life, or in death, or their age.
Read more: A manifesto for Syria
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
Photo: Firemen at work in bomb damaged street in London, after Saturday night raid, circa 1941. Source: US National Archives.
Over 67,000 British civilians were killed in the Second World War. Around 40,000 of them were killed by air raids.
When Hitler’s air force attacked, pilots from several other nations joined in defending Britain, including experienced fighter pilots from Poland and Czechoslovakia: the 303 “Kościuszko” Polish Fighter Squadron was amongst the most successful squadrons fighting in the Battle of Britain.
Today, more civilians have been killed in Syria than were killed in Britain in World War Two. The vast majority of them have been killed by the Assad regime: over 95% according to records collected by the Violations Documentation Center in Syria.
Today, no international pilots have come to defend Syrian civilians from Assad’s attacks. The US-led coalition is intervening in Syria, but not against Assad. He is free to bomb cities and towns and villages with Russian-supplied helicopters and Iranian jet aircraft. Two in five of all civilians killed last year were killed by Assad’s air attacks. Over half the women and children killed in 2014 were killed by Assad’s air force.
This month marks 70 years since Anne Frank was killed in the Holocaust. The Anne Frank Declaration is intended to draw from her life lessons for the present, not just memories of the past. It says:
Anne Frank is a symbol of the millions of innocent children who have been victims of persecution. Anne’s life shows us what can happen when prejudice and hatred go unchallenged.Many leading British politicians have signed this Declaration, including David Cameron and Ed Miliband, but when we look at their actions on Syria, we have to ask how well they are living up to their pledge.
Because prejudice and hatred harm us all, I declare that:
- I will stand up for what is right and speak out against what is unfair and wrong
- I will try to defend those who cannot defend themselves
- I will strive for a world in which our differences will make no difference – a world in which everyone is treated fairly and has an equal chance in life
On the last day of Parliament, the Coalition Government announced that they were joining the US-led effort to train Syrians to fight ISIS. Earlier it was reported that if re-elected the Conservatives intended to join US-led strikes against ISIS in Syria. Whatever the merits of these policies, they contained nothing to defend Syrian civilians from their greatest threat: the Assad regime. Assad and his allies are responsible for over 95% of killings of civilians. Assad’s forces continue to target civilians with barrel bombs, chlorine bombs, and Scud missiles.
The legal basis for joining US-led strikes against ISIS in Syria would be collective defence of the Republic of Iraq, not the humanitarian defence of Syrian civilians. It would not live up to David Cameron’s promise to “defend those who cannot defend themselves.” For that he would have to back action to stop Assad bombing civilians.
As for how well Ed Miliband is living up to his promise: Since he signed the Anne Frank Declaration, Ed Miliband has been talking about his August 2013 decision to block joint UK-US action in response to the Assad regime’s mass killing of civilians with Sarin chemical weapons. But in his telling of the story there was no mention of the men, women, and children poisoned. In his telling there was no mention of standing up to Assad, only of standing up to Obama.
Ed Miliband said that his decision in August 2013 proved that he is “tough enough” to be prime minister: “Hell yes.” Many of his supporters seem to agree, and “Hell yes” t-shirts have been produced, celebrating Ed Miliband’s toughness in helping get a mass-murdering regime off the hook.
Not that those supporters see it in quite that way. Jamie Glackin, Chair of Scottish Labour, denied that there was any connection between Ed Miliband’s “hell yes” phrase and the August 2013 chemical attack: “It’s got nothing to do with that. At all.”
But it has everything to do with that. Ed Miliband’s chosen anecdote to show toughness was to point to the time he prevented action against a mass-murdering dictatorship, one that gave refuge to a key Nazi war criminal, that has tortured its citizens on an industrial scale, that is inflicting starvation sieges on hundreds of thousands of people, that has driven half of the population from their homes, four million of them driven out of the country as refugees, and that has continued killing civilians in their tens of thousands since Ed Miliband said “no” to action.
Anne’s life shows us what can happen when prejudice and hatred go unchallenged.
When asked about the consequent events in Syria, Ed Miliband avoided taking any responsibility. “It’s a failure of the international community,” he said. But we are the international community. The UK is a key member of the international community, one of only five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and one of only three functioning democracies amongst those five. When Ed Miliband blocked UK action, the consequences were critical.
I will try to defend those who cannot defend themselves.
Anne Frank was 15 years old when she was killed in the Holocaust. You can read more about her at the Anne Frank Trust, and at the Anne Frank House museum.
According to a November 2013 report by the Oxford Research Group, Stolen Futures: The hidden toll of child casualties in Syria, 128 children were recorded amongst the killed in the Ghouta chemical attack: 65 girls and 63 boys.
Something of two of those girls, Fatima Ghorra, three years old, and her sister, Hiba Ghorra, four years old, is told by Hisham Ashkar here.
The names of 54 of the girls killed are listed by the Violations Documentation Center in Syria. For some, clicking on a name will give a little more information, such as a photograph of one in life, or in death, or their age.
Read more: A manifesto for Syria
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
In this UK election, let’s talk about our shared future.
Cross-posted from Syria Solidarity UK.
Rescue in the Mediterranean. Photo: Amnesty International.
A British general election is about deciding how Britain is governed, about Britain’s future. But our future here, and the future of our children, doesn’t only depend on what happens within the borders of the UK, it depends on events in the wider world.
We can’t have a safe country in an unsafe world. We can’t build a caring home for our children if we care nothing for others. We can’t expect a prosperous future on these islands if we turn away from the rest of humanity.
Read more: A manifesto for Syria
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
Rescue in the Mediterranean. Photo: Amnesty International.
A British general election is about deciding how Britain is governed, about Britain’s future. But our future here, and the future of our children, doesn’t only depend on what happens within the borders of the UK, it depends on events in the wider world.
We can’t have a safe country in an unsafe world. We can’t build a caring home for our children if we care nothing for others. We can’t expect a prosperous future on these islands if we turn away from the rest of humanity.
Read more: A manifesto for Syria
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
Thursday, 16 April 2015
A manifesto for Syria
Cross-posted from Syria Solidarity UK.
In this UK election, let’s talk about Syria.
For a peaceful, democratic Syria, a Syria without Assad and a Syria without ISIS, we support the calls by Planet Syria activists and Syria Civil Defence rescue volunteers for action to stop the violence.
Read more:
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
In this UK election, let’s talk about Syria.
For a peaceful, democratic Syria, a Syria without Assad and a Syria without ISIS, we support the calls by Planet Syria activists and Syria Civil Defence rescue volunteers for action to stop the violence.
Read more:
Join us in London on the 26th of April to answer the call from Syria.
Saturday, 28 March 2015
“Hell yes”
#HellYes
— Jamie Glackin (@Jamie4Labour) March 28, 2015
@Jamie4Labour Imagine these were your family, your children. Think about how “Hell yes” sounds to the survivors. https://t.co/IzuuaEKIMZ
— No-Fly Zone Syria (@NFZSyria) March 28, 2015
@NFZSyria What are you talking about??
— Jamie Glackin (@Jamie4Labour) March 28, 2015
@Jamie4Labour These are victims of Assad regime’s Sarin attack on Ghouta. Do you know context of “Hell yes”? Didn’t you watch the interview?
— No-Fly Zone Syria (@NFZSyria) March 28, 2015
@Jamie4Labour Ed Miliband was talking about his response to the Assad regime’s Sarin attack on Ghouta when he used the phrase “Hell yes”.
— No-Fly Zone Syria (@NFZSyria) March 28, 2015
@NFZSyria How do you know? I’ve used the phrase myself. As do millions of people daily. Think you’re very wrong here.
— Jamie Glackin (@Jamie4Labour) March 28, 2015
@Jamie4Labour So you didn’t watch Ed Miliband interviewed by Paxman?
— No-Fly Zone Syria (@NFZSyria) March 28, 2015
@NFZSyria No, I actually did. But you clearly took something very different from it than everyone else.
— Jamie Glackin (@Jamie4Labour) March 28, 2015
@Jamie4Labour He was talking about his response to the Assad regime’s Sarin attack on Ghouta in August 2013. You do know that then?
— No-Fly Zone Syria (@NFZSyria) March 28, 2015
@NFZSyria Not arguing with you. It’s got nothing to do with that. At all.
— Jamie Glackin (@Jamie4Labour) March 28, 2015
@Jamie4Labour How can it have nothing to do with it when that’s what he was talking about?
— No-Fly Zone Syria (@NFZSyria) March 28, 2015
Denial. @Jamie4Labour Chair Scottish Labour can’t accept Miliband’s “hell yes” has anything to do w. Sarin massacre. https://t.co/s157ZZpBZk
— No-Fly Zone Syria (@NFZSyria) March 28, 2015
And so @Jamie4Labour has blocked me.
— No-Fly Zone Syria (@NFZSyria) March 28, 2015
See also: Ed Miliband is peddling a lie about his volte-face on Syria, by Dan Hodges.
So proud are Mr Miliband’s supporters, they’ve made a “Hell yes” t-shirt.
I have voted Labour in every general election until now. But not this time.
Related posts: A letter to Ed Miliband, and For readers of the LRB.
Thursday, 29 January 2015
The neighbours are drowning
At least 3,419 people died last year trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
Most were fleeing Syria and Eritrea.
The UK Government has withdrawn support for Mediterranean search and rescue.
Protest in London on Saturday.
31 January, 2-5pm, at the Home Office, 2 Marsham St, London SW1P 4DF.
Read more: Three ways to save Syrian refugees.
Most were fleeing Syria and Eritrea.
The UK Government has withdrawn support for Mediterranean search and rescue.
Protest in London on Saturday.
31 January, 2-5pm, at the Home Office, 2 Marsham St, London SW1P 4DF.
Read more: Three ways to save Syrian refugees.
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Minimum of 24,168 civilians killed since Commons vote – true number may be over 42,000
Cross-posted from NFZSyria.org.
The Violations Documentation Center in Syria has now documented 24,168 civilians killed since the 29 August 2013 UK Parliament vote rejecting military intervention in Syria.
That vote was on a Government motion which raised the possibility of military action in response to a massive chemical weapons attack on civilians by the Assad regime; however the motion was clear that military action could only take place after a UN Security Council debate, and after a further vote in the House of Commons.
224 Members of Parliament of the opposition Labour Party, under the leadership of Ed Miliband, as well as 39 backbench coalition MPs and 22 other MPs, voted against the motion.
The figure of 24,168 civilians killed since is from the Violations Documentation Center online database, and may have been updated by the time you read this. The VDC are just one of the organisations collecting and verifying reports of deaths in Syria. They are not able to document every death.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued a series of reports on violent deaths in the Syria conflict by comparing information from a number of organisations on the ground, including the VDC. The most recent UN report covers the period from the start of protests in March 2011 up to the end of April 2014. It gave a minimum number of 191,369 confirmed violent deaths. According to the report, that number is “likely undercounting the true total number of conflict-related killings that have occurred during this time period.” For that same time period, the VDC was only able to document 109,531 confirmed violent deaths including regime deaths, just over half of the UN number. Therefore the VDC number is a significant undercount compared to the UN number, which itself is a minimum count and therefore an undercount by an unknown margin.
If the VDC undercount of civilian deaths for the period since the UK Parliament vote is of the same proportion as the undercount of all violent deaths for the period covered by the UN report, then the number of civilian deaths since the House of Commons vote is over 42,000.
For the entire conflict, the VDC has documented 78,819 civilians killed to date, greater than the recorded number of British civilians killed in the Second World War. By the same calculation of comparing to the UN count, the true figure of civilians violently killed in Syria since March 2011 is likely to be over 137,000. All violent deaths, civilian and military, are now well over 200,000.
None of these figures include war-related deaths caused by exposure, malnutrition, and destruction of medical services; more fallen sparrows than we can count.
Below are the 95 civilians that the Violations Documentation Center listed as killed in one day, Christmas Day, 2014.
The Violations Documentation Center in Syria has now documented 24,168 civilians killed since the 29 August 2013 UK Parliament vote rejecting military intervention in Syria.
That vote was on a Government motion which raised the possibility of military action in response to a massive chemical weapons attack on civilians by the Assad regime; however the motion was clear that military action could only take place after a UN Security Council debate, and after a further vote in the House of Commons.
224 Members of Parliament of the opposition Labour Party, under the leadership of Ed Miliband, as well as 39 backbench coalition MPs and 22 other MPs, voted against the motion.
The figure of 24,168 civilians killed since is from the Violations Documentation Center online database, and may have been updated by the time you read this. The VDC are just one of the organisations collecting and verifying reports of deaths in Syria. They are not able to document every death.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued a series of reports on violent deaths in the Syria conflict by comparing information from a number of organisations on the ground, including the VDC. The most recent UN report covers the period from the start of protests in March 2011 up to the end of April 2014. It gave a minimum number of 191,369 confirmed violent deaths. According to the report, that number is “likely undercounting the true total number of conflict-related killings that have occurred during this time period.” For that same time period, the VDC was only able to document 109,531 confirmed violent deaths including regime deaths, just over half of the UN number. Therefore the VDC number is a significant undercount compared to the UN number, which itself is a minimum count and therefore an undercount by an unknown margin.
If the VDC undercount of civilian deaths for the period since the UK Parliament vote is of the same proportion as the undercount of all violent deaths for the period covered by the UN report, then the number of civilian deaths since the House of Commons vote is over 42,000.
For the entire conflict, the VDC has documented 78,819 civilians killed to date, greater than the recorded number of British civilians killed in the Second World War. By the same calculation of comparing to the UN count, the true figure of civilians violently killed in Syria since March 2011 is likely to be over 137,000. All violent deaths, civilian and military, are now well over 200,000.
None of these figures include war-related deaths caused by exposure, malnutrition, and destruction of medical services; more fallen sparrows than we can count.
Below are the 95 civilians that the Violations Documentation Center listed as killed in one day, Christmas Day, 2014.
| Unidentified 3 | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Maskaneh | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Unidentified 2 | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Maskaneh | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Unidentified 1 | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Maskaneh | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Hasan Ali al-Tahhan al-Noaemi | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Quneitra | 2014-12-25 | Shooting | |
| Abdul Salam al-Jahush | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Damascus Suburbs | Kanaker | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Alaa al-Rafea | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Quneitra | Rafeed | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Rifaa al-Hadhud | Civilian | Adult - Female | Homs | Der Baalba | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ameera Mohammad al-Khateeb | Civilian | Adult - Female | Idlib | Taftanaz | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ahmad Adnan Musa al-Khateeb | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Quneitra | Mashareh | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Hasan Ahmad al-Naqo | Civilian | Child - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Abdul Kader Faraj | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mohammad Ali al-Hameed | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ibrahem Meho | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Majed Merash | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Khaleel Ali al-Ali | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Musa al-Hamood | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Hasan Abbas | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Muhammad Shukri | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Qasem Hesso | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Kheder Hesso | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mustafa Hmado al-Shehabi | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ahmad Hmado al-Shehabi | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Satouf al-Naqo | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ibrahem al-Mustafa | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bazzaa | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mohammad Omar Mahmoud al-Jabali | Civilian | Child - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mohammad Shasho | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Kabbasin | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mohammad Abdul Baset Aboud | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ismael Khamees | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mustafa Kassar | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling | |
| Husain al-Nayef | Civilian | Child - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Waseem al-Ghawi | Civilian | Child - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Abdul Hameed al-Ghawi | Civilian | Child - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Unidentified | Civilian | Child - Male | Hama | Abo Fashafeesh village | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Khawla Mustafa al-Hallak | Civilian | Child - Female | Idlib | Habeet | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Hassan Adnan al-Rahmoon | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Jarjanaz | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Akram Abdulla Haj Qasem | Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Saraqib | 2014-12-25 | Detention - Torture |
| Mohammad Musa al-Khaled | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | 2014-12-25 | Shooting | |
| Yusri Ali Mahmoud al-Barm | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Giza | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Unidentified | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Sheikh Miskeen | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Mohammad Qatleesh | Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Dael | 2014-12-25 | Shelling |
| Mohammad Yosef Abo Zaid | Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Dael | 2014-12-25 | Shelling |
| Alaa Abo al-Nadr | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Damascus Suburbs | Daraya | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ammar Musa al-Hariri | Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Dael | 2014-12-25 | Shelling |
| Mamoun Khaleel al-Tamr al-Jbawi | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Jassim | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Unidentified | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Manbej | 2014-12-25 | Kidnapping - Execution |
| Usama Hawa | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Anadan | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Yousef Ibraheem al-Asad "al-Shaikh Deeb" | Civilian | Adult - Male | Hama | Karnaz | 2014-12-25 | Detention - Torture |
| Omar Ahmad Thalji | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Zakwan Mohammad al-Abes | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Jarjanaz | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Mohammad Abdul Moniem Deebo | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Jarjanaz | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Mohammad Khaled al-Heer | Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Maarat Numan: Deir Sharqee | 2014-12-25 | Detention - Torture |
| Hasan Aboud | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Bsagla | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Mohammad Zaatout | Civilian | Adult - Male | Damascus | Yarmuk Camp | 2014-12-25 | Detention - Torture |
| Abo Rabea al-Bukaie | Civilian | Adult - Male | Damascus Suburbs | Yalda | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Bilal Tareefe | Civilian | Child - Male | Damascus Suburbs | Douma | 2014-12-25 | Other |
| Ghaith Muhi Eddin al-Shazeli | Civilian | Child - Male | Damascus Suburbs | Douma | 2014-12-25 | Shelling |
| Ahmed Darwish | Civilian | Adult - Male | Damascus Suburbs | Harasta | 2014-12-25 | Chemical and toxic gases |
| Abo Malek al-Masri | Civilian | Adult - Male | Damascus Suburbs | Harasta | 2014-12-25 | Chemical and toxic gases |
| Ihsan Mahmoud al-Shaeir | Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Kafrshams | 2014-12-25 | Detention - Torture |
| Sobh Mohammad Metiemb al-Aloush | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Harra | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Ali Abdul Ghani Anees | Civilian | Adult - Male | Damascus Suburbs | Douma | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Maan Sahl al-Radi | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Daraa | Naseeb | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Abo Obaida al-Ansari | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Homs | Waar | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Majdi Azzam Farhat | Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Binnish | 2014-12-25 | Shelling |
| Unidentified | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Batbo | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Hosain Sayel al-Mostafa | Civilian | Adult - Male | Hama | Kaferzita | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ahmad Khaled Obaid | Civilian | Adult - Male | Hama | Kaferzita | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mahmoud Abd al-Moetei al-Elaiwi | Civilian | Adult - Male | Hama | Shehrnaz | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Hasan Mohammad al-Salloum | Civilian | Child - Male | Hama | Shehrnaz | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mahmoud Mohammad al-Saloum | Civilian | Child - Male | Hama | Shehrnaz | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Abo Sardah | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Damascus | 2014-12-25 | Shooting | |
| Mohammad Taher Wais | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Maher Taleb | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mohammad al-Hasan | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Abo Taha al-Turkmani | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Abo Ibrahem al-Ghawi | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Ahmad Swaid | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Joud al-Ghawi | Civilian | Child - Female | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Futoon Abo Zahed | Civilian | Child - Female | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Hasna Mahmoud al-Sawas | Civilian | Adult - Female | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Fatema al-Sawas | Civilian | Adult - Female | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mohammad Shaker Mehho | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Abdul Ghani Sheikh Ahmad | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Jomaa Qadour | Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Unidentified 1 | Civilian | Child - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Unidentified 2 | Civilian | Child - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Unidentified 3 | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Unidentified 4 | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Aleppo | Bab | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Shamoun Ali al-Jamous | Civilian | Adult - Male | Homs | Waar | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Abdul Ilah Ramadan al-Alewi | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Homs | Khalidiya | 2014-12-25 | Shooting |
| Unidentified | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Quneitra | 2014-12-25 | Shooting | |
| Wesam Ebraheem al-Eibrahim | Non-Civilian | Adult - Male | Homs | Hula | 2014-12-25 | Shelling |
| Ibraheem Ahmad al-Aytam | Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Ketyan | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Mohammad Hasoun | Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Ketyan | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
| Basem Nadim | Civilian | Adult - Male | Idlib | Ketyan | 2014-12-25 | Warplane shelling |
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