Syrian regime forces used tanks to fire shells at the Dr. Ghassan Abazid Mosque in al Manshiya neighborhood in the Daraa al Balad area of Daraa city at dawn on August 17, partially destroying the mosque’s structure and severely damaging the furniture inside.
SNHR can confirm that the mosque is in a residential area free of any military equipment or presence.
SNHR notes the Syrian regime forces have imposed a siege on Daraa al Balad area, Tareeq al Sadd neighborhood and the camps since July 27, 2021, with the area witnessing a military escalation by those forces ever since. As a result, a number of families have been displaced from the area, heading to safer districts in Daraa city for fear of regime bombardment and storming of the area.
Through this action, Syrian regime forces have, without doubt, committed another violation of Security Council resolutions 2139 and 2254 which prohibit any further indiscriminate attacks, as well as violating the rules of international humanitarian law which stress the distinction between civilians and combatants. Attacks of this nature spread terror and panic among civilians, leading them to flee their lands and homes in an attempt to reach safety, and forcibly displacing them, with the number of internally displaced persons within Syria currently standing at approximately 6.5 million Syrian citizens in total. The international community should put pressure on the Syrian regime and its allies to force them to compensate the displaced victims, rehabilitate homes and vital centers, support the process of political transition, and press all parties to pursue implementation of political transition according to a strict timetable which must not exceed six months, thus enabling millions of IDPs to return homes.
