On November 4, 2022, Syrian regime artillery forces fired multiple shells at Ma’ar Ballit Elementary School, in Ma’ar Ballit village in the southern suburbs of Idlib governorate, partially destroying the school building and moderately damaging the school’s interior furnishings. ,
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that the school is located in a residential neighbourhood, with no military objects in the school or the surrounding area.
Through such attacks, the Syrian regime categorically violates 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.
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 the 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.
