A 30-year-old man, named as Basem Atwan al Belal, from al Shannan village which is administratively a part of Theyban town in the eastern suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour governorate, was killed when a drone which we believe was of the US-led Coalition forces fired a missile targeting his car in the Badiya (desert area) of Shannan village on May 4, 2021.
By killing this civilian, US-led coalition forces have committed another violation of international humanitarian law, which stresses the distinction between civilians and combatants, with this act constituting a war crime. SNHR has documented thousands of killings perpetrated by US-led coalition forces since their intervention in Syria on September 23, 2014, with the death toll of Syrian civilians killed by these forces already passing 3,000 Syrian citizens. The international community must intervene to protect civilians from these ongoing killings.
