801 killed in 174 attacks targeting bakeries in Syria since 2011

ANKARA

Around 801 Syrians have been killed in attacks targeting at least 174 bakeries in Syria since March 2011, a report by Syrian Network for Human Rights said Friday.

The Paris-based network said 149 of the attacks, approximately 85%, have been committed by the Syrian-Russian alliance.

Of the 174 attacks, the Syrian regime is responsible for 99 of the attacks while Russian forces carried out 50 of them.

The remaining attacks were carried by a host of actors including the US-led coalition forces, Daesh/ISIS terror group, and opposition forces, along with other parties, the 21-page report documented.

Of the 801 killed, the Syrian regime forces were behind 685 deaths, and Russia 47, while a total of 109 children and 70 women were among the fatalities.

The report noted that the attacks on bakeries led to hours of long lines outside still-functioning bakeries exploited by the Syrian regime and Russia that place the blame of the Syrian crisis on the West.

According to the report, the year 2019 witnessed a record level of attacks on bakeries at 28%, with the northwestern Idlib and Aleppo governorates bearing the brunt of the incidents at around 46% and 26%, respectively.

Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar