28 Civilians Killed and Eight Vital Civil Facilities Damaged

SNHR has published a report entitled: “28 Civilians Killed and Eight Vital Civil Facilities Damaged” which documents two consecutive massacres in Kafr Nobbol city in the southern suburbs of Idlib governorate on Sunday December 4, 2016.

The report draws upon accounts from a number of residents, eyewitnesses, and survivors, and includes two accounts. The report also contains verified pictures and videos which show the huge destruction that resulted from the bombardment, while other pictures showed scattered body parts for the victims who were killed in the bombardment.

According to the report, the targeted areas were civil areas, where there were no military centers or weapon warehouses for extremist Islamic groups before or during the attack.

The report says that approximately at 10:30 AM, fixed-wing Syrian regime warplanes carried out no less than six airstrikes at multiple areas in Kafr Nobbol city, which resulted in the killing of 28 civilians including six children and two women. Additionally, eight vital civil facilities were damaged – Three bakeries, two hospitals, two schools, and one civil defense center.

The report notes that victims were killed in two different nearby locations at two different, but close, times. The victims of both massacres were transferred to one hospital, which significantly complicated the task of identifying the victims of each massacre.

The report asserts that the Syrian regime has, beyond any doubt, violated Security Council Resolutions 2139 and 2254 which both state that indiscriminate attacks must be halted. Also, the regime violated Article 8 of Rome Statute through the act of willful killing which constitutes war crimes.

The report says that the bombardment mentioned in this report has targeted armless civilians. Therefore, Syrian regime forces have violated the rules of the international human rights law which guarantee the right to life. Additionally, these violations were perpetrated in a non-international armed conflict which amounts to a war crime where all elements were fulfilled.

The report calls on the Security Council to take additional steps after Resolution 2139 was adopted and no pledges to cease the indiscriminate bombardment operations have been made. All the conflict parties must respect these steps and adhere to the rules of the international humanitarian law.

The report says that the Syrian case must be referred to the International Criminal Court and all those who were involved must be held accountable. Also, the norm of the Responsibility to Protect must be implemented in order to protect the lives, culture, and history of the Syrian people from being destroyed, looted, and ruined. Additionally, sanctions must be expanded to include the Syrian and Iranian regimes who are directly involved in committing crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Syrian people.

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