The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that it registered the names of 433 civilians who were killed across Syria in July, mostly in the ongoing onslaught the Assad regime and Russia launched against Idlib and rural Hama.
In its monthly report issued on Sunday, the Network indicated that the victims included 119 children, 64 women, five medical workers, two media activists, and three civil defense volunteers. It pointed out that civilian casualties spiked following the start of the bombing campaign in late April.
The monitoring group said that 28 people had been killed under torture in July, 25 of which by regime forces and three by the PYD militia. It also recorded at least 15 massacres, nine of which were committed by regime forces, three by the Russian forces, and three others by groups that the Network was not able to identify.
Moreover, the report listed at least 589 arbitrary arrests, including against 38 children and 24 women, noting that the majority of those were detained by the Assad regime forces in the provinces of Rural Damascus, Aleppo and Damascus.
The Network also said that it recorded at least 119 attacks on vital civilian centers, including 32 schools, 11 medical facilities and 22 places of worship. The Assad regime and its Russian ally were responsible for 113 attacks in the ‘de-escalation zone’ in northwestern Syria.
According to the report, the Assad regime and Russian forces used cluster munitions in at least five attacks and incendiary weapons in four other attacks.
The report indicated that the Assad regime dropped at least 581 barrel bombs on towns and villages on northwestern Syria in July, killing 22 civilians, including nine children and seven women. The attacks targeted at least 19 vital civilian centers, including 10 schools, three mosques, and two healthcare facilities.
The Network noted that the Assad regime and Russia committed various crimes in July, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest, torture and enforced disappearance. Their attacks and indiscriminate bombardment destroyed buildings and facilities, it said, adding that these attacks mainly targeted civilians and civilian objects.
The rights group stressed that the Assad regime violated the international humanitarian law, customary law, and UN Security Council resolutions, especially resolution 2139 and 2042 on the release of detainees as well as resolution 2254.
The report called on the UN Security Council to take additional measures pursuant to the issuance of resolution 2254, stressing the need to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court and hold accountable all those involved in war crimes, including Russia. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
