A man from Qastoun village in the western suburbs of Hama governorate, named as Fahd Suleiman al Bseis, was killed in Syrian regime artillery forces’ shelling of al Qahera village, also in the governorate’s western suburbs, on July 3. SNHR notes that this bombardment is a breach of the ceasefire agreement reached following consultations between the Turkish and Russian presidents, which went into effect on Mar 6, 2020.
Through this indiscriminate and random bombardment which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, the Syrian regime has committed a violation of international humanitarian law which constitutes a war crime. SNHR has recorded hundreds of killings of this nature which have been committed by Syrian regime forces since the beginning of the popular uprising in March 2011. With the death toll of victims killed by Syria regime forces exceeding 226,000 Syrian civilians, the international community must intervene to protect civilians in Syria from these ongoing killing operations.
