Yousef Ibrahim Barhou, from Ma’ar Ballit village in Jabal al-Zaweya, southern suburbs of Idlib governorate. He was killed on November 14, 2022 in an artillery bombing by Syrian regime forces that also wounded another civilian. The artillery shells landed near a group of civilians, including Barhou, who were picking olives at the time in an orchard on the outskirts of Ma’ar Ballit village.
Through this attack, the Syrian regime has categorically 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 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.
