On Sunday, 5st of January 2020, Syrian forces aircrafts bombarded a residential area in Ariha town at 12:39 Damascus time. The bombardment caused the immediate death of 9 civilians including 3 children and 2 women in addition to the injury of 15 others. Two days later, the number of killed civilians increased to 13 due to the severe injuries. The attack brought partial destruction to the town’s Mosque and school in addition to the properties of the residents that were used mainly to shelter the displaced persons from other regions. According to the flight observatories in the region, the attacking aircraft is believed to be a Sukhoy used by the Syrian governmental forces.
The attack is considered to be part of the on-going military campaign launched by the Syrian forces and its Russian allies since 19 December 2019.
Human rights Guardians believe that the aforementioned cases are extrajudicial killings, which are the responsibility of the Russian and Syrian alliance, and that they are crimes against humanity and war crimes, and an immediate investigation must be opened, holding those responsible accountable and compensation for the victims
And the above-mentioned attack also violated the principle of military necessity, which is provided for in Rule 50 of the ICRC’s Customary IHL Study, which stipulates that destruction of the property of an adversary is prohibited, unless required by imperative military necessity.
Human Rights Guardians also believe the above-described attack violated the principle of proportionality, provided for in Rule 14 of the ICRC’s Customary IHL Study, .
On28 , January Human Rights guardians filed a complaint with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings or by a brief or arbitrary procedures, requesting that the Syrian authorities must stop their attacks on civilians, open an immediate and transparent investigation into these cases, and bring those responsible to justice.
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Hatay-28-01-2020
