Six civilians from the same family, including two girls and two women, were killed, while two other civilians, one of them a woman, were wounded as a result of Syrian regime artillery forces firing a mortar shell at the front of a house in al Sharqi neighborhood in Ma’aret al Na’ssan village in the northeastern suburbs of Idlib governorate, on February 12, 2022.
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, 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 political transition process, 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 refugees and IDPs to return homes.
Image showing bodies of some of the victims of the massacre committed by the Syrian regime in the village.
Image showing blood stains and damages at the site of the shell at the front of a house in the village.
