Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

In Syria, UNRWA Condemns Killing of 14 Civilians, Five Palestinian Refugees

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 14 -- In Syria, the UN Relief and Works Agency UNRWA has issued a statement on the killing by explosion of 14 civilians, including five Palestinian refugees, on June 11:

"strongly condemns the parties responsible for two explosions in the vicinity of Qabr Essit camp in the town of Sayyida Zeinab on 11 June 2016. One explosion claimed the lives of 14 civilians and injured over a hundred.

This is the fourth such attack in Sayyida Zeinab since January this year. A pattern has emerged of the deliberate targeting of civilians in this area. The perpetrators of these outrageous acts deserve the strongest denunciation. UNRWA staff express their sincere condolences to the bereaved Syrian and Palestinian families.

At approximately 10.30 hrs on 11 June, an explosion was triggered approximately 200 meters from the entrance of Qabr Essit camp, killing at least 14 civilians including five Palestine refugees. Of those injured, many remain in a critical condition. Minutes after the first explosion, a second device was detonated on the road between Sayyida Zeinab and the nearby town of Husseiniyeh. At this stage, no casualties have been reported from the second blast.

The Palestine refugees killed were five year-old Younes Awadallah al-Najjar and his 12 year-old brother Imad Awadallah al-Najjar, 18 year-old Taha Ahmed Sharqi, 45 year-old Mohammed Abd al-Ghaffar Abu al-Haijeh, and 44 year-old Mahmoud Hassan Tayym. Fourteen Palestine refugees with ages ranging from 10 months to 60 years are among the wounded."

A question: given that Ban Ki-moon justified dropping Saudi Arabia from the Yemen Children and Armed Conflict annex by citing a threat to funding for Palestinian children, what does UNRWA think of this "deal"?

Back on June 3 as the UN Security Council met about aid access in Syria, the month's Council president Francois of Delattre of France stopped on the steps on the way in and read out several talking point.

Inner City Press asked quite audibly about helicopters, which the UN on June 2 said would be necessary in urban areas with consent. There was no answer.

   Moments later UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft stopped on the steps and said, “One step at a time,” citing Daraya. Earlier on June 3 the BBC interviewed a pseudonymous Daraya ex-resident saying only 8,000 people remain there.

Earlier in the week Inner City Press asked Rycroft if the UK is preparing a Chapter 7 draft resolution on access, and if it is concerned that Al Nusra may have and use surface to air TOW missiles. YouTube video here.

Back on May 12 after the Security Council agreed to a Press Statement about attacks in Syria, drafted by Egypt, New Zealand and Spain, the three countries came to the Council stakeout to take questions. New Zealand's Gerard van Bohemen, tracking the Statement, said that “the Council’s position is that terrorists are terrorists designated by the Security Council. So that’s Al Qaeda, Da’esh and Al Nusra. Those are the people designated as terrorists.”

Inner City Press asked “about the paragraph in the statement where you say terrorist acts by Da’esh, Nusra and then other individuals affiliated with Al Qaeda, so you are limiting, that’s what you are sticking with. Can you say anything about the request, and I guess, unsuccessful request, to list other groups? Are you prepared to say where that stands?” Video here.

   Ambassador van Bohemen replied, “There is a process and it requires consensus of the committee whether that’s a good or a bad system, that is the process. There is no consensus on that most recent recommendations.”

   So, with the day's events in Zaara in mind, Inner City Press asked, “If a group not on that list did a car bomb, would it be a terrorist act?”

To this van Bohemen replied, “I am not going to go down hypotheticals. Sorry. Thank you.”

But Zaara is hardly a hypothetical. We'll have more on this.

Earlier in May after calls in the UN Security Council for an open meeting about the situation in Aleppo in Syria, on the evening of May 3 the new Presidency of the Council, Egypt, announced that the “Security Council will hear a briefing tomorrow, Wednesday, May 4, by Under Secretaries General Jeffrey Feltman and Stephen O'Brien. The briefing is open in the Security Council chamber and will take place at 2 pm." See below.

On May 5, UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft stopped on his way into the Security Council and spoke about his proposed Press Statement on Aleppo, Inner City Press video here.

Back on March 14 before UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura took four questions in Geneva on March 14, he announced that for the next ten days, he would grant no exclusive interviews. Background below.

On the tenth day, March 24, de Mistura held a press conference during which he repeatedly said that his "paper" would be released "right now."

Later on March 14, after de Mistura briefed the UN Security Council by video, Ambassador Gaspar Martins of Angola, president of the Council for March, emerged to say that all members found Russia's announcement of starting to withdraw most of its forces from Syria positive.

Inner City Press asked Gaspar Martins if the (yet to be agreed) inclusion of Kurdish groups in Syria into the talks was discussed. Yes, he said, there is a desire that the talks get more inclusive.

But will they, particularly after the Ankara attack?

Now, Kurdish official Idris Nassan says Kurds will declare self determination in northern Syria. So it seems those who delayed and demurred on Kurdish involvement in the UN's Geneva talks have only themselves to blame.

On March 15, Inner City Press put the question to US State Department spokesperson John Kirby. From the State Department transcript:

Inner City Press: what does the U.S. think of the inclusion of Kurdish groups from – in Syria in the talks? There’s more and more – many countries talk – say they should be involved. Obviously, Turkey says that they shouldn’t be involved; there’s the Ankara attack. Has your – what’s the thinking here?

MR KIRBY: I’ve addressed this before and our position is exactly the same. The invitations to the talks were decided and sent by the UN, by Special Envoy de Mistura. He sent invitations this time to the same groups that he sent last time. Right now, that does not include Kurdish groups in the proximity talks. That said, as before, he continues to consult with a wide range of groups, to include Kurdish groups. And we believe that we need to respect his decision-making process going forward and how he wants to conduct these talks. We’re going to continue to support that. And again, there are consultations, there are discussions going on. We recognize that those consultations are important.

But what about Kurds declaring self determination in northern Syria? We hope to have more on this.

Here's some background on de Mistura's M.O. in Geneva, then Inner City Press' question on it: on March 1 the "Association des Correspondants Aupres des Nations Unies a Geneve" (ACANU), in a bit of advocacy the NY-based UNCA does not engage in, protested de Mistura making announcements about the Syria talks in exclusive interviews, and not to all correspondents at once.

Inner City Press has obtained the ACANU letter, which was cc-ed to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric (who threw Inner City Press out of the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29 and out of the entire UN on February 19 and 22, petition here) and published it here.

In New York, Ban Ki-moon and his Under Secretaries General like Herve Ladsous dole out information to favored correspondents; Ban's USG for Public Information Cristina Gallach on February 19 went so far as to oust Inner City Press after speaking with Giampaolo Pioli's UNCA but not Inner City Press. Will de Mistura, as now pledged, be different?

On March 14, Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Inner City Press there is no policy in this regard. From the UN transcript:

Inner City Press: I saw you [carbon copied] on this, so it seems like a fair question to you. I saw a letter from the ACANU, or the Geneva press association of correspondents, directed to Mr… Mr. de Mistura and [carbon copied] to you, protesting that he announced a delay… initial delay in the Syria talks in an exclusive interview. And I saw him this morning very early say that he's not going to do any exclusive interviews between 14 and 24 March, sort of as an accommodation. I guess I wanted to know, what is the UN's policy in terms of both the Secretary-General or a news-maker like de Mistura giving… ACANU seemed to say very clearly this information should be given to all correspondents at the same time. Do you agree with that?

Spokesman: No, Mr. de Mistura is a seasoned diplomat. He chooses to… he deftly handles the media, and he will do whatever he feels he needs to do. There is no policy per se on any of these issues that you raised.

No policy - like on the "lending out" of the UN Press Briefing Room, resulting in differences of opinion on the right to cover events there which the UN, Dujarric, can use as a pretext to oust the Press.

UN Geneva spokesman Ahmad Fawzi on March 14 gave the first question to “our Turkish colleague” -- who asked about the timing of elections in Syria. The next picked questioner identified himself “with the Geneva press corps;” then Al Jazeera Arabic asked if there is any deadline for a deal to be reached.

To this, de Mistura said this first round would run from March 14 to 24 -- during which no exclusive interviews, he said -- then a recess of a week or ten days. This will be folllowed by a second round of two weeks, then another recess, length undefined.

Fawzi's final question went to ACANU, representing Geneva correspondents accredited by the UN, hopefully (much) better than the decaying and corrupt UN Correspondents Association the UN uses in New York. This question was to say when meetings begin and end. And then it was over.

One couldn't help wonder if there were anywhere near this focus on the slaughter in Yemen - and where is de Mistura's counterpart Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed?

On Syria, will the Ankara attack impact mounting demands that the Kurds be given a role in this round of talks? We'll have more on this.

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