On January 1, 2024, Syrian regime forces fired multiple shells and rockets at Darat Ezza city in western rural Aleppo governorate. Shells struck the Darat Azza Automated Bakery and the adjacent Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq School, while others hit the center of the Darat Ezza Electricity Company building and the adjacent the first-aid center, as well as the city’s popular al-Sabt ‘Saturday’ Market. The attack killed three civilians and injured four others, including a baby. The attack also caused varying degrees of destruction in the sites targeted. The area is under the control of armed opposition factions and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that through this attack, 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 and homes, and to forcibly displace them. An estimated 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 have a safe and stable return.
