"The warring parties in Syria are constantly sinking to new depths, without apparently caring in the slightest about the death and destruction they are wreaking across the country. It is a grotesque situation," Hussein said in a statement published on the website of the UN human rights office.
Since the latest offensive against the extremists by the Syrian government forces began last week in the Aleppo governorate, some 51,000 civilians have been displaced and a further 300,000 are at risk of being placed under siege, he stressed.
"The High Commissioner stressed that hundreds of thousands of civilians in other parts of Syria are also facing dire humanitarian conditions, particularly those under sieges imposed both by Government forces and affiliated armed groups, and by armed opposition groups, including ISIL [Islamic State]," the statement added.
"Some 200,000 people living under an ISIL-imposed siege in Deir ez-Zor are experiencing severe water shortages and a total lack of electricity. Reports indicate that several people accused of smuggling food into the city have been executed by ISIL fighters," the statement continued.
"It is unconscionable that the various parties cannot even manage to sit around the table, when, because of their actions, more than a quarter of a million people have died, and the rest of the population is suffering to such a degree. A lasting peaceful resolution of this horrific war must be built on a solid foundation of human rights," he highlighted.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the country’s government fighting a number of opposition factions and radical Islamist groups, including Daesh, which is prohibited in many countries, including Russia.
