A boy, identified as Mohammad Taha Da’dou Hamiko, was killed, while three other civilians, including two children, were injured on March 10, 2024, in an attack by Syrian regime artillery forces who fired an anti-armor guided missile at the car they were travelling in which was taking them home from school to their homes near Hamiko Workship on the eastern outskirts of the victims’ home city of Darat Ezza in western rural Aleppo governorate. The fire caused by the rocket also completely burned the car. 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.
