UN calls on warring sides in Syria to protect civilians

The United Nations on Tuesday urged all parties in Syria to ensure the "protection of civilians" amid a recent attack that killed at least 16 people including women and children.

In a statement, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on all sides to "ensure that the protection of civilians is held paramount in the planning and execution of all military operations in accordance with international law."

She underlined that the "intensified" ground-based bombardment of the region by regime forces and their allies as well as a series of attacks by "non-state actors," left roughly one million people -- including hundreds of thousands living in camps -- in an "extremely vulnerable situation," with shelling also resulting in numerous civilian casualties.

Adding that civilians "continue to be used as pawns by the various parties," she called on both sides to provide safe passage to those residents who wished to flee and protect those wish to remain as much as possible.

"Large numbers of civilians, including hundreds of thousands of displaced people, in Idlib and northern Aleppo are living an intolerable existence,” Bachelet said.

Idlib, located in northwestern Syria on the Turkish border, faced intense attacks by the Assad regime after a vicious civil war broke out in 2011.

Since March 2015, Idlib was no longer under the control of the Assad regime and was dominated by military opposition groups and anti-regime armed organizations.

Following a meeting last September between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the two sides agreed to set up a demilitarized zone in Idlib, Syria.

Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib are to remain in the areas where they are already present, while Russia and Turkey conduct patrols to prevent renewed fighting.

She expressed concern for some 20,000 people who fled the Daesh-controlled eastern Deir-Ez Zor governorship, who she noted were reportedly being forcibly held in makeshift camps run by the YPG/PYD/PKK terrorist group, in what she said amounted to a "deprivation of liberty."

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years and has been responsible for the death of nearly 40,000 people. The YPG is its Syrian offshoot.

She also expressed concern for around 200 families who are reportedly trapped in areas controlled by Daesh and are still being prevented from leaving by the terrorist group.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.