During the battle that unfolded in early 2020 in the province of Idlib — the last rebel-held enclave of Syria — the government army supported by Russian air forces were likely to have committed war crimes, as new findings by the United Nations investigators show.
In a report published on July 7, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry analyzes numerous incidents of the devastating bombardment of hospitals, schools, and crowded market places, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and also forces at least 1 million civilians to flee their homes.
Indiscriminate bombing
After weeks of the major offensive against Idlib and western Aleppo between December and March, many frontline localities near strategic locations still defended by the armed opposition were left in ruins and almost completely depopulated, according to the report.
In general, the commission recorded 1,500 airstrikes alone, primarily conducted with air-to-ground missiles and barrel bombs, in addition to ground attacks and indirect fire by rockets, artillery, and mortars.
Starting from December, when the government forces launched an offensive against the strategic town of Maarrat al-Numan on the M5 highway, at least 433 airstrikes were committed, including upon markets and hospitals.
Russian military police troops patrol the Qameshli airport area in northwestern Syria on March 4, 2020. (AFP)
As a result, the offensive immediately triggered an exodus of at least 100,000 civilians from the bombarded area.
“Civilians mostly used the M5 highway to escape, often with their vehicle lights off to avoid being targeted,” the report reads.
“As aerial attacks on the M5 intensified toward the end of December — many were compelled to flee via parallel routes instead, often on foot, with only as many personal belongings they could carry.”.
One of the most brutal air attacks confirmed by the UN was likely to have been conducted by Russian Airspace Forces on March 5 in the city of Idlib. According to the investigation, the Russians inflicted “two consecutive airstrikes employing guided munitions on an isolated poultry farm in Marat Misrin,” hosting displaced persons, killing at least 16 and injuring 25 civilians.
Yet another attack on January 29, also likely to have been conducted by the Russian air forces Maarrat al-Numan and Kafr Nubl destroyed the last medical facility in the area and killed at least 14 civilians, including 1 doctor, and wounded up to 65 civilians.
In the same period, at least 13 market places and 58 educational facilities were attacked and damaged in Idlib and western Aleppo, by Russian-Syrian forces in almost all occasions.
Russian soldiers reposition in the town of Derouna Arha near the Syrian border with Turkey on June 16, 2020. (AFP)
War crimes
Before the ceasefire was negotiated by Turkey and Russia in early March, the intense hostilities saw a massive exodus of 560,000 to the province’s northwest, while 400,000 more fled to northern Aleppo.
“The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that pro-government forces committed the war crimes of deliberately attacking medical personnel and facilities by conducting airstrikes,” the UN concluded, adding that in each indecent the attacks were not subjected to destroy a legitimate military target.
As the investigation’s results show, the Russian-Syrian forces deliberately adhere to atrocities, particularly by destroying the last remaining hospitals, as part of their “warring strategy.”
“The means and methods of warfare deployed not only killed and injured civilians but also rendered parts of Idlib governorate and western Aleppo uninhabitable,” the report concludes.
“Residents consistently described how the near-constant bombardment was the direct reason that forced them to flee, leaving towns and villages almost completely depopulated…Pro-government forces also likely perpetrated the war crime of spreading terror among the civilian population, and may have further committed murder and other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity.”
According to the UN, Russia continues to vehemently deny its involvement in the bloody attacks described in the report.
A picture taken on June 3, 2020 shows a US soldier standing guard as a Russian military helicopter flying over the northeastern Syrian town of al-Malikiyah (Derik) at the border with Turkey. (AFP)
Jihadi artillery
But apart from Russian-Syrian forces, the civilian population also continue suffering from guerrilla warfare waged by numerous irregular armed groups beyond the opposition Free Syrian Army.
According to the UN report, numerous Jihadi forces like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HIT) operating heavy artillery killed at least 202 civilians and injured 456 in Idlib and Aleppo between November and May.
“On 21 November, for example, armed groups carried out a mortar attack on a market area in Salah el-Din neighborhood, in Aathamiyyeh, western Aleppo,” the UN said.
“The attack damaged at least 5 shops, and killed 5 civilians… and injured 12 others. A 14-year-old girl who was injured along with her mother later perished from her wounds.”
And in a similar fashion with the regime forces and the Russians, the jihadi attacks were indiscriminate artillery strikes upon densely populated civilian areas, with no apparent legitimate military objectives targeted, with scores of civilians killed senselessly — which also amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, as the UN noted.
