Bombings and air strikes in Syria were committed deliberately to disrupt peace talks between both sides in Geneva, UN Envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Saturday. De Mistura met with officers of the Syrian government and opposition forces in Geneva in efforts to resolve [Reuters report] the ongoing conflict. Suicide attackers killed [NPR report] at least 32 people on Saturday in the city of Homs, including a senior military official. The Syrian government responded with airstrikes against a rebel-held enclave.

The war in Syria [JURIST backgrounder] continues to have a devastating impact. In January, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland condemned [JURIST report] the interruption of water that has left millions of Syrians without clean access to water. Earlier that month Syrian warplanes resumed bombardment [JURIST report] in spite of a ceasefire agreement reached just days before. In December the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to establish an independent panel to investigate possible war crimes [JURIST report] in Syria. That month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein accused Syrian pro-government forces of going door to door and systematically killing civilians [JURIST report] in at least four Aleppo neighborhoods. The Russian/Syrian coalition committed war crimes in Aleppo during September and October, Human Rights Watch said [JURIST report] in early December.