A human rights group published a report highlighting the systematic destruction of whole cities and towns by the Assad regime and its allies, a strategy that is aimed at killing any semblance of life in those areas and forcibly displacing their residents.
In report published on Thursday, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that as many as three million civilian homes have been destroyed in Syria since March 2011. It noted that 90 percent of these have been destroyed by the Assad regime and its Russian ally, adding that 70 percent of the total destruction was caused by warplanes, a weapon which is only owned only by the Assad regime and Russia.
The report, which included satellite imagery showing the scale of destruction in urban areas, said that the Assad regime and Russian forces sought to destroy as many houses as possible, especially vital civilian structures. The Network said that this policy was aimed at sending a message to residents of the areas outside the Assad regime’s control that their homes are doomed to destruction and sabotage and that they will receive no protection, whether from the United Nations or the Security Council.
By analyzing the strategy being employed the Assad regime, Russia, and Iranian terrorist organizations, the Network said that the destruction was widely used to destroy all forms of opposition to Assad’s rule and to completely destroy the rebellious communities.
The Network pointed out that the recent bombing campaign on eastern Ghouta was mainly carried out by Russia’s air force, adding that the Assad regime and Iranian militias contributed to the destruction using artillery shelling. The bombing campaign on eastern Ghouta killed at least 1,850 civilians, with 85 percent of the bombing focused on residential areas located away from battlefronts.
The brutal bombing campaign in eastern Ghouta which began on February has been unprecedented since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in March 2011, adding that it was even more brutal than the bombing campaign in the eastern parts of Aleppo in late 2016.
The monitoring group stressed that the Assad regime deliberately destroyed civilian homes in Homs at first, then went on to employ the same strategy in all the areas that revolted against it with the aim of forcing the local population out of their homes. It said that this strategy aimed to end any resistance against the regime at the expense of vital civilian infrastructure and homes. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
