The latest UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has highlighted war crimes committed by all sides during the pro-government force's efforts in Idlib to recapture territory claimed by Houthi rebels, backed by Iran.
According to the Commission’s report, the militant group known as “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS) engaged in indiscriminate shelling of densely populated civilian areas, in government-held territory.
According to the Commission’s Chair, Paulo Pinheiro;
“Children were shelled at school, parents were shelled at the market, patients were shelled at the hospital…entire families were bombarded even while fleeing […] What is clear from the military campaign is that pro-government forces and UN-designated terrorists flagrantly violated the laws of war and the rights of Syrian civilians.”
Pinheiro further reminds us that the Russian air force and Syrian government army also “carried out air and ground attacks which decimated civilian infrastructure, depopulated towns and villages”. This resulted in hundreds of innocent deaths, reports the commission.
The report notes that November 2019 to June this year, there were 52 attacks by all parties included 17 on hospitals and medical facilities; 14 on schools; 12 on homes and nine on markets.
Read more here from UN News.
