Hundreds of arbitrary detentions reported in Syria last month: NGO

A total of 579 cases were noted in a newly-published report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) which claimed Syrian regime forces were responsible for 87 percent of the registered detentions in February.  

“In most cases, families of the victims are unable to exactly locate the body responsible for the arrest,” the NGO said.  

The report notes no positive steps have been taken toward ending arbitrary detentions and forcible disappearances in Syria despite a recent  UN ceasefire resolution and the Russian “humanitarian pause”, and called for immediate action to deal with the matter.

The findings come as the Syrian regime continues to grip Eastern Ghouta, the last rebel bastion near the capital, which is home to some 400,000 residents.

Eastern Ghouta - described as "hell on earth" by the UN chief - has been under a Russian-backed siege since February 18, which has claimed over 600 lives and injured thousands. Residents expect Eastern Ghouta to follow a similar pattern as Eastern Aleppo - which in 2016 fell under regime control after airstrikes gave way to a ground assault.

Meanwhile, activists have begun an #iamstill alive campaign to show solidarity with Eastern Ghouta residents. 

The Syrian conflict began when the Baath regime, in power since 1963 and led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded with military force to peaceful protests demanding democratic reforms during the Arab Spring wave of uprisings, triggering an armed rebellion fuelled by mass defections from the Syrian army.

According to independent monitors, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, mostly by the regime and its powerful allies, and millions have been displaced both inside and outside of Syria. The brutal tactics pursued mainly by the regime, which have included the use of chemical weapons, sieges, mass executions and torture against civilians have led to war crimes investigations.