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Can one terrible image change the direction of a humanitarian crisis?

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Newspapers report the death of Aylan Kurdi. EPA/Andy Rain

Newspapers report the death of Aylan Kurdi. EPA/Andy Rain

by Gabriel Moreno Esparza, The Conversation

The harrowing picture of a man carrying the corpse of a drowned boy on Bodrum beach published by numerous news organisations could be the defining image of a globally significant event.

As a piece of photojournalism it has already made an impact in a way Daniel Etter’s moving picture of a crying father holding his children after landing on Kos beach did not. Etter’s piece was said to have “brought the world to tears” and has been used for fundraising . It was certainly example of how photojournalism is “at its best when it embodies our ability to benefit the issues and people with whom we connect“.

But the images of the little boy, taken by Nilüfer Demir, a photographer for the Turkish news agency Doğan, seem to have touched a deeper nerve.

We’ve since been told that the boy’s name was Aylan Kurdi and that his mother and brother also died trying to get to Europe, while his father survived.

The Huffington Post reports that this image in particular has prompted several British opposition politicians to call for action. “Bodrum” quickly became a top trending topic on Facebook, while the hashtags #refugeeswelcome and #SyriaCrisis were the centre of attention on Twitter.

Why it’s different

It remains to be seen whether the image coincides with a shift in attitudes toward what is being labelled as the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II or whether it will become as imprinted in our minds as the three great images of the Vietnam War: Huỳnh Công Út’s “Napalm girl”, Eddie Adams’ 1968 “Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief”, or Malcolm Browne’s 1963 “Burning Monk”.

These images are recognised for their ability to communicate human suffering, letting the viewer know they are witnessing evidence of a reality that cannot just be captured in words. They convey the sense that the scene in the frame is part of something much bigger than what any observer can make of it.

The picture of the small boy is of course part of an individual and a collective tragedy. It is a scene from a humanitarian crisis that has forced millions to flee their war torn hometowns in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Bodies have been washing ashore in southern Europe for some time, and my guess is we’ll be witnessing more of these images before long.

But pictures like “Napalm girl” or “Burning Monk” were part of national narratives that told the world of the horrors of war experienced in distant countries. “Drowned boy’s corpse”, on the other hand, makes us confront a reality too close to look away.

This one image carries the echo of millions of men and women who are too scared of the nightmare they are living to think twice before putting their little boys and girls onto rafts, hoping they’ll make it to a better place.

Perhaps Lee Miller’s 1945 Dead Prisoners in Buchewald concentration camp communicated some of the same collective horror – but again, there is something different in the more recent image. It’s tragic at face value, but horrific for what it doesn’t show – the bloody realities of millions of people who aren’t in the picture.

Changing the narrative

We could stop for a minute to ponder the conflict between the ethical and journalistic dimensions in imagery of violence and tragedy. One could also remark on the hypocrisy of many conservative newspapers that have run this image to suit their sensationalist agendas after months of using others to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment.

Personally, I would prefer to stick with the momentum of favourable media attention that the photograph is generating. It has been used by campaign groups to galvanise citizen action. The hope is that it could finally tip world leaders into softening their stance on this issue.

Gabriel Moreno Esparza is a Lecturer in Journalism at Northumbria University, Newcastle.

The Conversation

Four suspected smugglers tried in Turkey for organizing Syrian toddler’s boat trip

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A Turkish police officer escorted suspect Hassan Ali Salih to court in Bodrum. He was charged with "conscious negligence" for allegedly organizing the trip that killed Syrian toddler Aylan al-Kurdi. (Courtesy of eshopmall.co.uk/Roland Hoskins)

A Turkish police officer escorted suspect Hassan Ali Salih to court in Bodrum. He was charged with “conscious negligence” for allegedly organizing the trip that killed Syrian toddler Aylan al-Kurdi. (Courtesy of eshopmall.co.uk/Roland Hoskins)

by Euronews

Four Syrians have been remanded in custody by a Turkish court, after being charged in connection with the drowning of refugees including tragic toddler Aylan Kurdi.

Mothers of the suspects were there to support their sons who were charged with smuggling migrants and causing multiple deaths by “conscious negligence”.

The mother of one of the men, Meliha Recep, insisted her son was not a smuggler but himself a migrant.

“They did nothing, they were just trying to escape. Our children are also victims. They were just on the same boat, that’s all,” Recep, dressed in a grey headscarf, told reporters.

The hearing took place at the Turkish resort of Bodrum, near the spot where three-year-old Aylan’s body was washed up in scenes that shocked the world.

In Syria’s border town of Kobani, Aylan was buried on Friday with his five-year-old brother Ghalib and their mother.

His father Abdullah, who had hoped for a new, safe life for his family now wants to stay in the war-ravaged town beside their graves.

He wept as his sons and wife were laid to rest, and also called on Arab governments to do more to alleviate the refugee crisis

Abdullah Kurdi survived the perilous crossing from Turkey that killed his family and at least nine other people packed onto two small boats headed to the Greek island of Kos just a few kilometres away.

Harrowing images showing Aylan’s tiny body have put a human face on this crisis – and forced European governments to accept that this is a refugee emergency that cannot be ignored.

UN calls on EU states to accept 200,000 refugees from Syria, Iraq, elsewhere

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Over 300,000 refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea so far in 2015. (AFP/File)

Over 300,000 refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea so far in 2015. (AFP/File)

by Press TV

The UN has criticized the European Union (EU) for failing to find a response to the spiraling refugee influx, urging the bloc to accept and distribute up to 200,000 asylum-seekers across the continent as part of a binding program for relocation of refugees.

“People who are found to have a valid protection claim… must … benefit from a mass relocation program, with the mandatory participation of all EU member states,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Friday.

“A very preliminary estimate would indicate a potential need to increase relocation opportunities to as many as 200,000 places,” he added.

The UN official criticized the EU for failing to “find an effective common response” to the “untenable situation” and said the only way to solve this problem is for the EU and all member states to “implement a common strategy, based on responsibility, solidarity and trust.”

“This is a primarily refugee crisis,” Guterres said, adding the vast majority of those arriving in Europe, including Greece, come from conflict zones like Syria and Iraq and are simply running for their lives.

“All people on the move in these tragic circumstances deserve to see their human rights and dignity fully respected, independently of their legal status,” he said.

Stressing that “the massive flow of people will not stop until the root causes of their plight are addressed,” the UN official said that “much more must be done to prevent conflicts and stop the ongoing wars that are driving so many from their homes.”

According to the UN official, more than 300,000 people have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, with over 2,600 losing their lives in the dangerous crossing, including three-year-old Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, whose photo has just stirred the hearts of the world public.

“Europe cannot go on responding to this crisis with a piecemeal or incremental approach,” Guterres said, referring to the pictures of the dead child whose lifeless body was found face down on a Turkish beach Wednesday.

The UN official’s remarks come as Europe is facing an unprecedented immigration and refugee crisis, which has escalated over summer. Refugees are coming directly to Europe instead of staying in camps in neighboring countries.

The continent is now divided over how to deal with a flood of people, mainly Syrians fleeing war in their homeland.

The 28-nation bloc is to convene a special meeting in two weeks to discuss a record surge in numbers and the opening up of new routes over the Balkans in addition to the Mediterranean Sea route.

Drowned Syrian Toddler Is Buried in Kobane

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Abdullah Kurdi (center), father of the drowned three-year-old boy, holds his son's body during the funeral in Kobane. Photo via Dicle News Agency/EPA

Abdullah Kurdi (center), father of the drowned three-year-old boy, holds his son’s body during the funeral in Kobane. Photo via Dicle News Agency/EPA

by VICE News

The body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi has been laid to rest in the Syrian town of Kobane on Friday, alongside his brother and mother, who also died trying to reach Greece.

The shocking photographs of the drowned Syrian child, washed up on a beach near Bodrum, Turkey, have sparked international outcry this week. The images have reignited the debate as to how to help those fleeing from war and how to solve the European refugee crisis, where thousands have died trying to reach Europe by sea.

The child’s father, Abdullah Kurdi, buried his family in the ‘Martyrs’ Ceremony’ in the predominantly Kurdish town, near the border with Turkey.

Speaking at the border crossing, he called upon neighboring Arab countries to help Syrian refugees. Kurdi said: “What I want now is for Arab states, not the European ones, the Arab states, to see what happened to my children.”

In an interview with the BBC, Kurdi described how he lost his family at sea when the boat they were travelling by capsized: “I tried to steer the boat but another high wave pushed the boat over. That is when it happened,” he said.

“My children were the most beautiful children in the world. Is there anybody in the world for whom their child is not the most precious thing?”

It was initially reported that the Kurdi family was refused entry into Canada, yet an aunt in Vancouver clarified that she had tried to sponsor other relatives first.

Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his condolences to the family during a speech on Thursday, and promised to “do more” if re-elected: “We should be doing everything, we are doing everything and and we will do more of everything,” he said.

Yet opposition Liberal leader Justin Trudeau retorted: “You don’t get to suddenly discover compassion in the middle of an election campaign. You either have it or you don’t.”

Other world leaders have also been criticized for not taking in more Syrian refugees, including British Prime Minister David Cameron. He has now vowed to accept “thousands” more people from UN camps bordering Syria.

On Friday, the UN refugee agency announced that Britain will accept 4,000 refugees from Syrian camps.

Drowned Syrian toddler was denied asylum in Canada: report

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A Turkish police officer carries a young boy who drowned in a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos. Photograph: Reuters

A Turkish police officer carries a young boy who drowned in a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos. Photograph: Reuters

by Tamar Pileggi, The Times of Israel

The toddler whose body washed up on a Turkish beach Wednesday was a Syrian-Kurdish refugee whose family was desperately trying to reach North America, even though Canada had rejected their request for asylum.

The image of a policeman cradling the body of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi on a Turkish beach has triggered horrified reactions as the tragedy of Europe’s burgeoning refugee crisis hits home.

Another 15 people were rescued from the boat, including the father of the family, Abdullah. According to the report, he said he now wishes to return to bury his family in their hometown.

Canadian legislator Fin Donnelly told The Canadian Press that a Vancouver-area woman had sought to sponsor the mother and two children but that her request was turned down by immigration officials.

The Ottowa Citizen quotes Aylan’s aunt, who immigrated to Vancouver over two decades ago, as saying that the Kurdi family’s privately funded refugee application had been rejected by Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Department in June, due to the catch 22-like dilemma displaced Syrians face.

Like thousands of other refugees in Turkey, they were not registered as refugees by the UN refugee agency, and the Turkish government does not to grant exit visas to unregistered refugees without valid passports.

“I was trying to sponsor them, and I have my friends and my neighbors who helped me with the bank deposits, but we couldn’t get them out, and that is why they went in the boat. I was even paying rent for them in Turkey, but it is horrible the way they treat Syrians there,” Teema Kurdi said.

Aylan and his family were traveling on a tiny boat built for four people but thought to have been carrying 15 refugees. The family is believed to be from the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani to have fled to Turkey last year to escape Islamic State extremists.

While the escalating migrant crisis has exposed deep divisions in the EU’s policy, the plight of Syrian refugees took center stage on the Canadian campaign trail this week, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper insisting that he would do more to help if his Tories are re-elected.

Harper has come under fire for not welcoming more Syrians fleeing their country’s deadly conflict. Canada agreed to resettle 20,000 refugees, but, as of late July, had only welcomed 1,002, according to government figures.

“As long as we have organizations like ISIS or the so-called Islamic State, creating literally millions of refugees and threatening to slaughter people all over the world, there is no solution to that through refugee policy,” Harper said. “We have to take a firm and military stance against ISIS and that’s what we’re doing.”

Canada joined the US-led coalition fighting the extremist group in November 2014, adding airstrikes on targets in Syria the following year.

‘Humanity washes ashore’ goes viral as photos capture horror of war, plight of refugees

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#KiyiyaVuranInsanlik

A Turkish police officer stands next to the body of the young boy. Photograph: Reuters

A Turkish police officer stands next to the body of the young boy. Photograph: Reuters

by Jon Queally, Common Dreams

A series of heartbreaking photos showing a young boy—believed to be a refugee from Syria—washed up on the beach in Turkey after a failed attempt to cross the sea to Greece is being shared and discussed across the world on Wednesday after many media outlets decided to publish the images as a way to confront Europeans—and humanity at large—with a “stark reminder” that “more and more refugees are dying in their desperation to flee persecution and reach safety.”

A Turkish police officer carries a young boy who drowned in a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos. Photograph: Reuters

A Turkish police officer carries a young boy who drowned in a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos. Photograph: Reuters

Under the social media hashtag #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (which translates from the Turkish as “humanity washes ashore”), the photos have spurred a global outcry surrounding the plight of those families and individuals who have become victims to the “callous indifference” of western nations and what international aid groups have decried as a broken system for the world’s ballooning refugee population.

As the Guardian reports:

The full horror of the human tragedy unfolding on the shores of Europe was brought home on Wednesday as images of the lifeless body of a young boy – one of at least 12 Syrians who drowned attempting to reach the Greek island of Kos – encapsulated the extraordinary risks refugees are taking to reach the west.

The picture, taken on Wednesday morning, depicted the dark-haired toddler, wearing a bright-red T-shirt and shorts, washed up on a beach, lying face down in the surf not far from Turkey’s fashionable resort town of Bodrum.

A second image portrays a grim-faced policeman carrying the tiny body away. Within hours it had gone viral becoming the top trending picture on Twitter under the hashtag #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (humanity washed ashore).

The two images described can be see here and here. (Warning: these images are graphic and may be distressing to view.)

Though only one young life out of the nearly three thousand people estimated to have died so far this year while attempting to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea, the pictures of the young boy appear to have captured the collective sorrow of those sickened by a world in which children—with or without their families—are forced to face such dangers in order to escape the threats of war and impoverishment that have made their homelands unlivable.

(Editor’s note: Despite agreeing with the sentiment that such images should be seen as a way for the general public to be confronted with the horrors wrought by endless war, a global assault on human rights, and the scourge of poverty and statelessness that results, Common Dreams has decided not to publish the images on our pages given their ubiquity elsewhere and in deference to the unidentified child’s family and anyone who may be needlessly traumatized by viewing such images.)

Responding to the impact the photo was having, Justin Forsyth, CEO of Save the Children, told the Guardian the “tragic image of a little boy who’s lost his life fleeing Syria is shocking and is a reminder of the dangers children and families are taking in search of a better life. This child’s plight should concentrate minds and force the EU to come together and agree to a plan to tackle the refugee crisis.”

Explaining why it published the un-edited photos prominently on its homepage, the UK-based Independent said it made the decision “because, among the often glib words about the ‘ongoing migrant crisis,’ it is all too easy to forget the reality of the desperate situation facing many refugees.”

While dramatic images of desperate refugees “emerge almost every day,” the newspaper continued, “the attitude of Europe’s policymakers and much of the public have continued to harden.”

In an open letter to “anyone who ever talked down the refugee crisis,” the Independent‘s sister publication, i100, went further on the necessity of the general public seeing the photos. Addressed to a cross-section of individuals and groups of people who have framed the plight of refugees seeking asylum in Europe as a “migrant crisis”—specifically [British Prime Minister] David Cameron, Theresa May, Nigel Farage, the Daily Express, protesters in Germany, Katie Hopkins, Philip Hammond, anyone who has ever written a disparaging comment on a Mail Online article, police in Hungary, the governments of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia, the people of Britain, Czech police, tourists in Kos, Tony Abbott, cartoonists, Ukip MEPs and people on Twitter—the letter chastises those who have disparaged and dehumanized those desperate enough to make the journey while “spreading anti-migrant and anti-refugee sentiment” across Europe and beyond. It states:

Some of you have hauled refugees off trains and written numbers on their arms.

Some of you have simply built a wall.

Somehow you’ve lost sight of the simple fact that our fellow humans are in dire need of help, having fled death and destruction in their homelands only to face an even more perilous journey into Europe.

Somehow you’ve stopped seeing refugees, and they are refugees, for what they are, and tried to deny them the assistance they are legally, and morally, entitled to.

But it has to end, and end now. It has to end because people are dying in their thousands, because Europe’s reputation as a champion of human rights is disintegrating, because if we don’t act now we will regret it for the rest of our history.

“Enough is enough,” the letter concluded. “Attitudes have to change. See the human and not the imagined danger that anything is under threat apart from these people’s lives.  A refugee crisis unlike any other since the Second World War is unfurling on our doorstep and now is the time to help people who need it the most.”

Despite the distressing and repetitive imagery, the social media conversation surrounding the images continues on Twitter and other platforms.

Icelanders call on government to take in more Syrian refugees

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12,000 in country, which currently accepts just 50 refugees, sign open letter with many saying they would house Syrians in their own homes

A double rainbow at Skogafoss waterfall in Iceland. The country has been named as the most peaceful on earth, with Syria the least. Photograph: Jorunn Sjofn/Rex Shutterstock

A double rainbow at Skogafoss waterfall in Iceland. The country has been named as the most peaceful on earth, with Syria the least. Photograph: Jorunn Sjofn/Rex Shutterstock

by Jessica Elgot, The Guardian

Thousands of Icelanders have called on their government to take in more Syrian refugees – with many offering to accomodate them in their own homes and give them language lessons.

Iceland, which has a population of just over 300,000, has currently capped the number of refugees it accepts at 50.

Author and professor Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir put out a call on Facebook on Sunday asking for Icelanders to speak out if they wanted the government to do more to help those fleeing Syria. More than 12,000 people have responded to her Facebook group “Syria is calling” to sign an open letter to their welfare minister, Eygló Harðar.

Speaking on Iceland’s RÚV television, Bjorgvinsdottir said her country’s attitude was being changed by the tragic news reports. “I think people have had enough of seeing news stories from the Mediterranean and refugee camps of dying people and they want something done now,” she said.

“Refugees are human resources, they have experience and skills,” the Icelandic letter reads.

“Refugees are our future spouses, best friends, or soulmates, the drummer for the band of our children, our next colleague, Miss Iceland in 2022, the carpenter who finally finished the bathroom, the cook in the cafeteria, the fireman, the computer genius, or the television host.”

Many of those posting on the group have said they would offer up their homes and skills to help refugees integrate. “I have clothing, kitchenware, bed and a room in Hvanneyri [western Iceland], which I am happy to share with Syrians,” one wrote. “I would like to work as a volunteer to help welcome people and assist them with adapting to Icelandic society.”

“I want to help one displaced family have the chance to live the carefree life that I do,” another wrote. “We as a family are willing to provide the refugees with temporary housing near Egilsstaðir [eastern Iceland], clothing and other assistance. I am a teacher and I can help children with their learning.”

Iceland’s prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, said he was aware of increasing popular pressure to take in more refugees. “I assume that during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting I will propose the establishment of a special committee of ministers to discuss the problem and evaluate how Icelanders can respond, how we can contribute as much as possible,” he told RÚV.

“It has been our goal in international politics to be of help in as many areas as possible and this is one of the areas where the need is most right now.”

Iceland was recently named the world’s most peaceful country in the Global Peace Index, with Syria the least peaceful.

The open letter and offers of assistance from ordinary citizens reflects a shifting attitude towards refugees in some parts of Europe.

Over the weekend, German football fans held up signs at matches welcoming those fleeing persecution, and the German tabloid Bild, not renowned for its liberal attitudes towards immigration, has taken up the cause. Martin Patzelt, an MP from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, has temporarily housed two Eritrean refugees in his home in Brandenburg.

Patzelt said he been contacted by many other Germans offering their homes too, but had also received death threats. “I didn’t want any refugees in my life, but they came. And I took the challenge,” he told EU Observer.

Last month, the Guardian reported on the story of a French family in Calais who gave a Syrian refugee food and shelter every night as he attempted to cross to the UK.

About 20,000 people took to the streets of Vienna on Monday to protest against the treatment of refugees, including senior church leaders and politicians, after the bodies of 71 people were found in an abandoned truck last week.

“We’ve had enough – enough of the deaths, the suffering and the persecution,” the archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, said.

Syria army dropped 2,000 barrel bombs since July: US

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Assad government is seen as becoming reliant on ‘use of barrel bombs as an instrument of terror against innocent Syrian civilians’

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the Syrian war (AFP)

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the Syrian war (AFP)

by Middle East Eye

Syrian forces have dropped more than 2,000 barrel bombs across the country since July, killing hundreds of people, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday.

US envoy Samantha Power called for action to end the use of a type of improvised explosive that has particularly been targeted at the Damascus suburb of Darayya and the southwest region of Zabadani, near the Lebanon border.

“The Assad regime has apparently grown reliant on the repugnant use of barrel bombs as an instrument of terror against innocent Syrian civilians,” Power said in a statement.

“It is long past time for the international community to come together to end the deplorable use of barrel bombs and all other forms of attacks against civilians in Syria.”

The United States, France and Britain have repeatedly accused President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of using helicopters to drop barrels rigged with explosives on civilian areas.

Power condemned the latest wave of indiscriminate bombings that have “killed hundreds of people and destroyed schools, mosques, markets, hospitals and ambulances”.

The UN Security Council is discussing proposals for a resolution on barrel bombs that would increase the pressure on Damascus even though it adopted a resolution in February last year demanding an end to the attacks.

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the war, now in its fifth year, with more than 240,000 people dead.

Syrian opposition in Russia

Meanwhile, Syria’s main opposition group on Thursday insisted that Assad must go as it met with Russia’s foreign minister.

The head of Syria’s National Coalition Khaled Khoja held talks with top diplomat Sergei Lavrov as part of a fresh push by Russia to find a way out of the four-year civil war.

Moscow – one of Assad’s main backers – is pushing a plan for a broader grouping than the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, to include Syria’s government and its allies.

But Khoja – in Moscow for his first talks since February 2014 – ruled out cooperating with Assad and reiterated demands that the strongman must leave before any transitional government can be set up.

“Bashar Assad has no role in the future of Syria,” Khoja said in an interview with the Interfax news agency translated into Russian.

At the start of the meeting, Lavrov insisted that Russia was working with regional and international players to find a political solution to the crisis and stop Syria from becoming a “hotbed of terrorism”.

“The main thing now is that these interests translate into practical coordinated steps,” Lavrov said.

National Coalition representative Badr Jamous described the visit as “very good,” Russian Interfax reported after the sit-down.

“There were many issues where we agreed with the Russian representatives,” Jamous was quoted as saying.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir rejected calls to work with Assad against IS after a meeting with Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday.

The spate of meetings is part of a broader diplomatic flurry that saw Lavrov sit down with Jubeir and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Doha earlier this month.

As part of the push, Lavrov is expected to meet with the head of a newer grouping of opposition figures known as the Cairo Conference Committee on Friday.

On Wednesday, Russia’s top Middle East envoy met in Moscow with the head of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) Saleh Muslim to discuss the mooted anti-IS coalition and attempts to unite Syria’s opposition groups.

Syria’s opposition and Western officials have hinted that Moscow’s backing for Assad may be wavering, but Moscow insists it remains firmly behind the Syrian leader.

Kerry complains to Moscow about Iran general’s visit

Meanwhile, Kerry called Lavrov on Thursday to express concern about a visit to Moscow by the commander of Iran’s covert forces, a senior State Department official said.

General Qassem Suleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ foreign operations, reportedly visited Russia late last month despite being subject to UN-backed international sanctions.

A State Department spokesman said on Wednesday the United States had confirmed the trip had taken place and said US officials would raise their concerns with Russia at an upcoming New York meeting on violent extremism.

“Secretary Kerry also raised his concerns about the travel to Moscow by IRGC Commander Qassem Suleimani,” the senior official said on Thursday, outlining a call between the two diplomats.

Suleimani is one of several Iranian officials targeted by a 2007 United Nations travel ban because of their alleged links to Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.

Despite the recent deal struck by Iran and world powers on its nuclear programme, the targeted sanctions against Suleimani and many of his colleagues remain in effect.

Suleimani has also been sighted visiting Iranian-backed forces in Iraq.

Hundreds of civilians credibly reported killed in first year of coalition airstrikes, airwars study finds

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Scene of a devastating Coalition strike at Hawijah, Iraq on June 3rd 2015 which reportedly killed up to 70 civilians. (Photo: via Iraqi Spring)

Scene of a devastating Coalition strike at Hawijah, Iraq on June 3rd 2015 which reportedly killed up to 70 civilians. (Photo: via Iraqi Spring)

by Chris Woods, Airwars

A six-month investigation into alleged civilian and ‘friendly fire’ deaths from Coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria has identified more than 120 incidents of concern to June 30th according to an Airwars report published today – three times more problem events than the Coalition itself was aware of.

Airwars believes that for 57 of these incidents, there is sufficient publicly-available evidence to indicate Coalition responsibility for civilian and friendly forces deaths. Between them these events account for 459-591 alleged civilian fatalities, and the reported deaths of 48-80 allied forces.

In stark contrast, the Coalition has investigated just ten incidents – and has so far conceded just two civilian deaths in thousands of airstrikes across Iraq and Syria since August 2014.

1,000 alleged fatalities

Since February Airwars has been examining claims totaling more than 1,000 alleged civilian fatalities. Many of these incidents remain difficult to verify. Some are contested, with counterclaims that Iraqi or Syrian forces carried out an attack. Other events are poorly reported. On occasion claims of civilian fatalities have turned out to be false, researchers found.

Even so, the public record clearly suggests a significant under-reporting of civilian deaths by the Coalition.

Airwars is publishing its own full findings online, with detailed descriptions of each event and links to every known source. The database features hundreds of photographs and videos, along with the names of more than 260 alleged victims.

‘The international Coalition has boasted that its air war against Islamic State is “the most precise and disciplined in the history of aerial warfare.” Yet facts from the ground suggest a very different story,’ says Chris Woods, Director of Airwars.

‘With more than 5,800 airstrikes so far and over 18,000 bombs and missiles dropped on the cities and towns of Iraq and Syria, all indications are that hundreds of civilians have already died in Coalition strikes.’

Airwars also reports a troubling lack of accountability among the twelve Coalition members. Only Canada has consistently reported where and when its aircraft strike.

In contrast other nations have released almost no information about their actions, with Australia claiming that it ‘will not release information that could be distorted and used against Australia in ISIL propaganda.’ With Coalition nations individually liable when civilians are killed in Iraq or Syria, those affected on the ground presently have almost no recourse to justice or compensation.

Key findings

  • Between August 8 2014 and June 30th 2015, 53 incidents of concern were reported for Iraq, with claims of between 578-732 civilians killed by the Coalition. Most reports are focused on cities and towns – scene of the heaviest bombings. Of these events, Airwars believes 17 Iraqi cases in particular (involving 233-311 alleged fatalities) warrant urgent further investigation.
  • Coalition airstrikes began in Syria on September 23rd 2014, and to June 30th 2015 Airwars has identified 65 alleged incidents in which civilians died. Of these, we believe 35 cases demonstrate a fair level of public reporting – with Coalition airstrikes also confirmed in the near vicinity for that date. An estimated 226-280 civilians died in these Syrian events.
  • Nine claimed ‘friendly fire’ incidents have occurred since Coalition operations began – eight in Iraq. These allege that up to 185 allied forces (mostly Shia militia) have been killed. Airwars believes there is reasonable evidence to support five of these claims – which killed an estimated 48 to 80 friendly forces between them.
  • Although overall the Coalition does a fair job of informing where and when it strikes, it remains almost impossible to hold any of the 12 individual members accountable in the event of civilian deaths. Only Canada consistently reports where and when its aircraft attack.

Shared concerns

Other monitoring groups tracking the violence in Iraq and Syria are also raising concerns, with each reporting hundreds of civilian fatalities from Coalition strikes to June 30th.

Iraq Syria Totals
Airwars [total range] 233-732 226-354 459-1,086
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – 173
Syrian Network for Human Rights – 198
Syria Violations Documentation Center – 276
Iraq Body Count 487* –
Averaged fatality estimates 360-641 218-250 578-891*

Monitoring groups in Syria accept that the Coalition generally tries to limit civilian fatalities – particularly when compared with other actors in the brutal civil war.

Yet as Bassam al-Ahmad of VDC notes to Airwars, the Coalition still has its own obligations when it pursues Daesh amid civilian populations: ‘We know that ISIS is taking civilians as human shields, and is building all its military bases in civilian neighborhood. But according to the Laws of War, the Coalition also has to take into account the general principles of international humanitarian law when conducting its strikes.’

As the international air war against Islamic State enters its second year, there is little sign of the risk to civilians on the ground abating.

As Airwars published its report July 2015 was emerging as the most intensive month yet of Coalition bombings, with 371 strikes reported in Syria alone. Civilian casualty claims also peaked, with 14 new alleged events reported for Syria and eight for Iraq – a new and grim record.

Read The Guardian’s comprehensive report on our investigation here.

Turkey says parts of Syria to become ‘safe zones’

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Foreign minister says areas cleared of fighters belonging to ISIL can become haven for Syrians displaced by war.

Turkey says areas cleared of ISIL fighters in Syria could be used as safe zones for displaced Syrians [Reuters]

Turkey says areas cleared of ISIL fighters in Syria could be used as safe zones for displaced Syrians [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Turkey has said areas in north Syria cleared of fighters belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group will become safe zones.

Saturday’s announcement made by Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, came after Ankara announced it had begun bombing ISIL positions in Syria and and Kurdish fighters’ camps in northern Iraq.

“When areas in northern Syria are cleared of the (ISIL) threat, the safe zones will be formed naturally,” Cavusoglu told a news conference.

“We have always defended safe zones and no-fly zones in Syria. People who have been displaced can be placed in those safe zones.”

The conflict in Syria has displaced more than 10 million people, with many residing in makeshift camps near the Turkish border.These areas have been targeted a number of times by Syrian military bombardment. The Turkish government has repeatedly called for the setting-up of safe zones to protect these people.

Several Turkish media outlets had earlier reported the government was considering setting up a 33km-wide safe zone inside Syria, stretching from the outskirts of Kurdish-held Kobane to areas controlled by pro-Western rebel groups.

Its purpose would be to strengthen the rebels’ hand against ISIL and prevent the Kurdish fighters from capturing new border areas.

Third wave of attacks

Turkish forces on Saturday unleashed a third wave of air strikes and ground attacks against the two targeted factions.

“We have given instructions for a third series of strikes in Syria and Iraq. Air and ground operations are under way,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara, adding that 590 suspected ISIL and PKK members were arrested in raids across Turkey.

The military action by Ankara was seen as a potential game changer in the war against ISIL.

Turkey earlier this week approved the full use of its airbases by the US-led coalition against ISIL, according to the foreign ministry, marking a major change in its policy following a suicide bomb attack in Suruc , bordering Syria.

The offensive against the PKK came after the Kurdish group claimed attacks on security forces in the last days.

A spokesman in Iraq for the PKK, which has been fighting Turkey for autonomy since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara and its allies, said the strikes likely spelled the end of the peace process.

“Turkey has basically ended the cease-fire,” Zagros Hiwa told the AP news agency.

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