At least six civilians, including two children, were killed and 11 others were wounded after fixed-wing warplanes which we believe were Russian bombed a stonemason’s workshop and nearby homes in southern Hafserja village in Idlib governorate western suburbs on September 8, 2022.
The debris and shrapnel from the bombing also hit a randomly erected IDPs camp, located about 200 meters from the stoneman’s workshop, with the bombardment also causing massive damage to the workshop building.
SNHR notes that the four fixed-wing warplanes that we believe were Russian carried out 16 missile strikes on the range of hills on the outskirts of al Ghafr and Hafserja village in western Idlib governorate, with these air raids causing a massacre south of Hafserja village.
SNHR stresses that this attack by the Russian forces violates the ceasefire agreement that was agreed after talks between the Russian and Turkish presidents, which took effect on March 6, 2020.
Through these attacks, Russian forces have again clearly violated UN 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 political transition process, and press all parties to pursue implementation of a political transition according to a strict timetable which must not exceed six months, thus enabling millions of refugees and IDPs to return home.
Exclusive photo for SNHR showing the destruction caused to a stonemason’s workshop by Russian airstrikes in the south of Hafserja village.
