At a time when Vladimir Putin’s Russia is entering the UN Human Rights Council, this is a particularly timely report. On Thursday, September 15, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a damning investigation into the offensive led by the Assad regime, with the help of its Russian protector, against the rebel province of Idlib in the northwest. from Syria, between April 2019 and March 2020.
In this work, by crossing first-hand testimonies, satellite images, photos and videos taken in the field, as well as the readings of observers who follow the ballet of Russian and Syrian planes in the sky, the NGO reconstructs a around forty strikes, affecting schools, markets, hospitals and apartment buildings. A sample of war crimes, representative of a bombing campaign that killed 1,600 civilians and displaced 1.4 million people.
In doing so, the HRW report highlights the scorched earth policy followed by Moscow and Damascus to reclaim the enclave of Idlib, the last area still in the hands of the anti-Assad – notably the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al- Cham – where there is currently a fragile ceasefire. It details the mechanics of violence, fear and misery, at the basis of the counterinsurgency strategy of the two allies.
“The bombings of the Syrian-Russian alliance (…) show a ruthless contempt for civilian life, says Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW. These repeated illegal attacks appear to be part of a deliberate military strategy to destroy civilian infrastructure and dislodge the population, so as to facilitate the Syrian government’s takeover of Idlib. “
Attacked medical structures
Among the attacks studied, seven targeted shopping areas, leaving a total of 95 dead and 198 injured. The deadliest took place on July 22, 2019, in Maarat Al-Nouman, a locality since taken over by loyalist troops. A missile salute, on multi-story houses, a small market and stalls killed 43 people and injured 75 others. The white helmets, the rescuers in the rebel areas, took 24 hours to remove the bodies from the rubble. “I remember a young boy who was carrying vegetables when he was killed, testifies the driver of an ambulance dispatched to the scene. His hands, which were found severed, still held them. ”
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