A man, identified as Mohammad Zakariya Jneidi, was injured on February 22, 2024, along with two of his children in a kamikaze drone attack by Syrian regime forces, who targeted the family as they rode a motorbike along a public road near al- Zeyara village in the Sahl al-Ghab area in western rural Hama governorate. This was followed by a second kamikaze drone attack by regime forces targeting a car in the vicinity of Qastoun village in Sahl al-Ghab. While the second attack caused no casualties, the car was moderately damaged. The two areas targeted are 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, 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 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 to their homes.
