On September 25, 2023, Syrian regime forces used a rocket launcher to fire multiple rockets at the al-Shamali neighborhood in Jisr al-Shoghour city in western rural Idlib governorate. The rockets hit civilians’ homes, as well as the main city market, injuring seven civilians, including two children and two women, in addition to causing material damage to and partially destroying the houses and shops that were targeted. The area is under the joint control of armed opposition factions and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Syrian regime forces targeted the same neighborhood in a second attack after Civil Defense teams arrived in the site.
Through this attack, Syrian regime forces have again unequivocally violated UN 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, to drive them from their lands, homes and places of refuge, and to forcibly displace them, often repeatedly. 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.
