Syria's air force deliberately bombed water sources in December, a war crime that cut off water for 5.5 million people in and around the capital Damascus, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria says.
The commission said on Tuesday it had found no evidence of deliberate contamination of the water supply or demolition by armed groups, as the Syrian government maintained at the time.
Rebels had controlled the springs of the Wadi Barada valley, northwest of Damascus since 2012 and faced a major offensive by Syrian government forces and their allies, despite a ceasefire deal. The rebels withdrew at the end of January.
The commission, led by Brazilian investigator Paulo Pinheiro, said there were no reports of people suffering water contamination on or before December 23, when the Syrian air force hit al-Fija spring with at least two air strikes.
Syrian ambassador Hussam Aala did not comment directly on the attack during a debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, but said his government rejected allegations that it had attacked civilians or civilian infrastructure.
The attack was one of several war crimes committed by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the report said.
It also catalogued atrocities by Islamic State and the group formerly known as the Nusra Front, the two combatants designated as terrorists by the UN Other rebel groups were also blamed for displacing communities during their offensives.
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