On October 3, 2023, Syrian regime forces used a rocket launcher to fire multiple rockets at Sarmin city in eastern rural Idlib governorate, injuring two civilians. Half an hour after the first bombardment, the regime forces resumed their attack, with one of the shells fired landing near the Hussein Haj About Elementary School while the children were leaving at the end of the school day. The second volley of shelling injured one woman, as well as causing mass panic. The area was under the control of armed opposition factions and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) at the time of the incident.
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.
