A 55-year-old woman, identified as Fatima al-Haj Mohammad al-Khleif, was killed on September 2, 2023, in an attack by Syrian regime artillery forces who fired multiple shells at her home village of Arab Hassan near southern rural Jarablos in eastern rural Aleppo governorate.
The targeted area is located on the dividing lines between the areas controlled by the Syrian National Army (SNA) and those controlled by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that this incident comes amid ongoing clashes between the SDF and Deir Ez-Zour Military Council backed by Arab tribes, which broke out on August 29, 2023.
Through this attack, Syrian regime forces have again 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.
