A boy, identified as 15-year-old Abdullah Marwan Haydar, was killed and another boy was injured on January 28, 2024, in an artillery attack by Syrian regime forces, who used heavy machine guns to target agricultural land near Abdullah’s home village of Ma’aret al-Na’san in northern rural Idlib governorate, while the two children were harvesting mushrooms. 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 and 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 be ensured a safe and stable return.
