Speaking to a news conference in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday, Bachelet voiced deep concern for 7,000 civilians, whom she said had been caught between Daesh militants preventing them from evacuating Dayr al-Zawr, located 450 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus, and US-led coalition airstrikes.
“We also have reports of Daesh executing people perceived as cooperating with SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) or other parties to the conflict,” she said.
The high-ranking UN official went on to say that civilians in Dayr al-Zawr province are being used as “pawns and bargaining chips” in the conflict.
Syrian army forces foil militant infiltration attempt in Latakia
Meanwhile, Syrian government troops have thwarted an attempt by a group of foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants to sneak into Kinsabba town in the country’s western coastal province of Latakia.
Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that army soldiers engaged in a fierce exchange of gunfire with the Takfiris, leaving scores of them killed and injured.
A military source, requesting not to be named, said the slain militants hailed from Ain al-Haour area, situated only five kilometers north of Kinsabba, and were planning to attack a military position.
Syrian army uncovers militant weapons cache in Idlib
Separately, Syrian government forces have discovered considerable amounts of munitions and highly explosive materials from militant hideouts in Tell Silmo village of the northwestern province of Idlib.
Elsewhere in the southwestern province of Dara’a, Syrian troops found weapons belonging to Taqkfiri militants in Nasib village.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.