Two civilians, identified as Mohammad Abdul Aziz al-Jouini and Ali Suleiman Alak, were killed on August 4, 2023, when Syrian regime artillery forces fired an anti-armour rocket at a crane they were operating. The two victims were trying to remove a van that was wrecked in another artillery attack a few hours before by Syrian regime forces who fired an anti-armour rocket at the van, injuring seven civilians who were in the vehicle as it travelled between the villages of Fafrtein and Barjaka Suleiman, an area administratively affiliated with the Sherawa subdistrict of rural Afrin in northwestern Aleppo governorate.
The area is under the joint control of the Syrian National Army (SNA). The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that, through this and similar attacks, Syrian regime forces have unequivocally violated Security Council resolutions 2139 & 2254, both of which categorically prohibit indiscriminate attacks, as well as violating the rules of international humanitarian law on distinguishing between civilians and fighters. Such attacks aim solely to spread fear and panic among civilians, and to drive them from their lands and homes, and forcibly displace them. It is estimated that 6.5 million people are currently internally displaced in Syria.
The international community must put pressure on the Syrian regime and its allies to support a process of political transition. Pressure should be applied on all parties to compel them to launch such a transition within a period of no more than six months, so that millions of displaced people can safely and stably return to their homes.
