UN rights chief warns of ‘ticking time-bomb’ in Syria

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet expressed serious concern on Friday about human rights violations, abuses and a sharp rise in killings of civilians across Syria.

She called the fast deteriorating situation "a ticking time bomb".

"We are receiving more reports every day of targeted killings and bombings from one end of the country to the other, with many such attacks taking place in populated areas," Bachelet said.

"Various parties to the conflict in Syria, including ISIL, appear to view the global focus on the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to regroup and inflict violence on the population," said Bachelet in a statement.

Nearly all the attacks have occurred in northern and eastern parts of Syria, said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at a UN video briefing on Friday.

"Various parties to the conflict in Syria, including ISIL, appear to view the global focus on the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to regroup and inflict violence on the population," he said.

Colville said that in April, the UN Human Rights Office, documented at least 35 civilian deaths due to attacks involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs), compared to seven the previous month.

Since the start of March, there have been a total of 33 IED attacks, 26 of which took place in residential neighborhoods, while seven other attacks hit markets, said Colville.

In one of the deadliest attacks in recent months, 51 people - of whom at least 29 were civilians - were killed when a fuel truck exploded in a market in the northwestern city of Afrin.

He said that in most cases no one had claimed responsibility for the attacks.