A woman from al Atareb city in the western suburbs of Aleppo governorate, named as Suad Rajab Abdul Khaleq, died on April 11 due to wounds inflicted on March 21 by Syrian regime and affiliated militias’ artillery forces, stationed at a site controlled by the Lebanese Hezbollah Party near Majbal al Zeft in Urm al Shughra village in west Aleppo governorate, who fired three Krasnopol shells at al Atareb Surgical Hospital – established in a cave – in al Atareb city in the western suburbs of Aleppo governorate, causing a massacre.
SNHR notes that this bombardment is a breach of the ceasefire agreement reached following consultations between the Turkish and Russian presidents, which came into effect on March 6, 2020.
Through this action, Syrian regime forces have, without doubt, committed another violation of Security Council resolutions 2139 and 2254 which prohibit any further indiscriminate attacks, as well as violating the rules of international humanitarian law which stress the distinction between civilians and combatants. Attacks of this nature spread terror and panic among civilians, leading them to flee their lands and homes in an attempt to reach safety, and forcibly displacing them, with the number of internally displaced persons within Syria currently standing at approximately 6.5 million Syrian citizens in total. The international community should put pressure on the Syrian regime and its allies to force them to compensate the displaced victims, rehabilitate homes and vital centers, support the process of political transition, and press all parties to pursue implementation of political transition according to a strict timetable which must not exceed six months, thus enabling millions of IDPs to return homes.
