Assad Regime Continues Assault On Idlib, Bombing Civilians, Residential Areas
17 June 2019Various Agencies
The Syrian regime is conducting a new version of its tried-and-true method of
targeting civilians and residential areas in order to recapture Idlib, the
last stronghold of the opposition
It has been seven weeks since Bashar Assad regime forces intensified their
indiscriminate attacks on northern Syria's Idlib region. The action is turning
into a familiar tactic of relentlessly and systematically striking residential
places, health facilities, schools, markets and infrastructure to break the
will of the population and pressure people to flee, according to international
observers, rights groups and local residents.
Abdurrahim, a local resident who had to flee his hometown with his family to a
nearby village, said that every time a warplane flew over their home, his
18-month-old daughter ran to him to hide in panic.
Speaking to The Associated Press (AP), Abdurrahim, who asked that his last
name not be published for security reasons, said he refused to flee his
hometown for years; however, the intensified regime offense launched in April
targeting Idlib province forced him to think about his family's safety.
"That look on my daughter's face... is really what is going to kill me," said
25-year-old Abdurrahim, referring to his first and only child, Ruwaida.
The breaking point that collapsed Abdurrahim's determination to stay in his
hometown came when an airstrike on May 30 pulverized the house next door,
crushing three children to death, one of them a girl Ruwaida's age. Then, he
and his family had to flee to survive.
What has been happening in Idlib is a new version of the tried-and-true method
that worked for the Russia-backed Syrian regime forces in their previous,
destructive campaigns that retook the city of Aleppo in 2016 and other
strategic territories.
Idlib is the opposition's last enclave. Its prewar population of 1.5 million
has swelled to around 3 million with new refugee waves after it was designated
a "de-escalation zone" under the Astana agreement between Turkey, Russia and
Iran in May 2017 to pave the way for a permanent political solution in Syria.
Tens of thousands of Syrians trapped in other parts of the country were
evacuated there under various cease-fire agreements.
International observers and monitoring agencies state that the regime
intentionally targets civilians, residential areas and infrastructure, as the
international community keeps their silence over the ongoing humanitarian
catastrophe.
"Even wars have rules," said Misty Buswell, the Middle East advocacy director
for the International Rescue Committee, adding that the two hospitals it
supports were hit by airstrikes. In this war, she said, attacks on civilians
"have happened with absolute impunity."
Regime forces violate international law
The Sochi agreement was reached on Sept. 17 by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. According to the agreement, the
cease-fire in the Idlib region will be preserved, with the withdrawal of heavy
arms and radicals from the region. Prior to the agreement, the Assad regime
was signaling a grand operation on Idlib, which is the last stronghold of the
opposition, sparking deep fears in the international community of a new
humanitarian crisis.
Following eight months of calm provided by the Sochi deal, the regime has
intensified its attacks since April 26 under the pretext of fighting Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants holed up in Idlib. The intermittent attacks and
bombardments have killed, wounded and displaced thousands. Residential areas
have been destroyed by indiscriminate attacks, while numerous educational
facilities, health facilities and residential areas collapsed or have become
unusable after being targeted by bombs.
The bombing "targets everything... bakeries, hospitals, markets. The aim is to
stop all services to civilians. Everything," said Wasel Aljirk, a surgeon
whose hospital was blasted by strikes.
Diana Samaan, a Syria researcher with Amnesty International, said homes are
targeted as a "tactic to pressure civilians to succumb." Sara Kayyali, a Syria
researcher with Human Rights Watch, said her group and others have "documented
enough strikes on residential buildings to at least indicate an appearance of
unlawful approach."
At least 32 hospitals and health facilities around the enclave have been put
out of service, either because they were struck or suspended their operations
for fear of being hit, Mustafa al-Eido from the Idlib health authority said
Thursday.
Also, there have been at least six attacks on civil defense centers, 29
attacks on schools and much more on other civilian infrastructure in the past
month, where the number of fatalities has exceeded 300 during the regime's
indiscriminate attacks targeting civilians and residential areas. At least 61
children are among those killed since April, according to Save the Children,
although the Idlib health authorities put the figure at 75 children killed in
May alone.
As a result, more than 300,000 people have been displaced in the past two
months with the majority in the past four weeks, and over 200,000 of them are
living in the open with no shelter, as internally displaced sites close to the
Turkish border are extremely overcrowded and already running at double
capacity. Aid groups fear that figure could spiral to 700,000 displaced.
Since Turkey is already hosting almost 4 million Syrian refugees, it would be
impossible for the country to handle a new refugee flow on such a large scale.
This is not only a concern for Turkey but would also have implications for
Europe. It has been estimated that around a half million people may flee to
Turkey, from where they might attempt to cross into Europe.
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