159 women killed by ISIS in Syria

Some 159 women have been killed in Syria as a result of the indiscriminate bombing, clashes, and field executions carried out by the Islamic State (ISIS) since the start of 2014, a report revealed yesterday.

“A Bleeding Jasmine” published by the Syrian Network of Human Rights (SNHR) on International Women’s Day said the numbers included four women who were stoned to death after being accused of adultery in Deir ez-Zor, Ar-Raqqah and Hama’s eastern suburbs.

According to the report, ISIS has arrested approximately 520 women since the start of 2013, including a large number of activists in various fields. The group imposed special laws that violate women’s rights to freedom of thought, freedom of belief, privacy, clothing, transportation, work and education. “These rules explicitly discriminate between men and women,” the SNHR report added.

The network accused Al-Nusra Front of killing at least 60 women through indiscriminate bombings or executions since its inception on 24 January 2012.

SNHR pointed to the deaths of 427 women at the hands of different factions related to the armed opposition. “Most of those women were killed by the armed opposition’s indiscriminate bombing of areas governed by government forces especially by the use of indiscriminate mortar shells,” the report added.

SNHR further revealed that armed opposition factions have arrested at least 875 women, in areas either under government control or under the control of the armed opposition. The victims include 235 women under the age of 18.