Syria: New Spate of Barrel Bomb Attacks | WPN World People News

The Syrian government has carried out hundreds of new indiscriminate attacks over the past year with air-delivered munitions, including improvised weapons such as barrel bombs. The attacks have had a devastating impact on civilians, killing or injuring thousands of people.

Human Rights Watch documented the attacks in Aleppo governorate in northern Syria and in Daraa governorate in the south based on witness statements, satellite imagery analysis, and video and photographic evidence. Although the United Nations Security Council condemned the attacks in a resolution adopted a year ago, it has not responded directly to the new wave of attacks.

“For a year, the Security Council has done nothing to stop Bashar al-Assad’s murderous air bombing campaign on rebel-held areas, which has terrorized, killed, and displaced civilians,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director. “Amid talk of a possible temporary cessation of strikes on Aleppo, the question is whether Russia and China will finally allow the UN Security Council to impose sanctions to stop barrel bombs.”

In an interview with the BBC on February 10, 2015, President Assad claimed that his forces were not using barrel bombs in spite of a wealth of evidence to the contrary.

The Security Council will meet on February 26 for its next round of reporting on resolution 2139 of February 22, 2014, which demanded that all parties to the conflict in Syria end the indiscriminate use of barrel bombs and other weapons in populated areas. Non-state armed groups have also conducted indiscriminate attacks, including with car bombs and explosive weapons in government held areas. The Security Council should impose an arms embargo on the government as well as rebel groups implicated in widespread or systematic indiscriminate attacks, Human Rights Watch said.

By examining satellite imagery, Human Rights Watch identified at least 450 distinct major damage sites in 10 towns and villages held by rebel groups in Daraa and over 1,000 in Aleppo between February 22, 2014, and January 25, 2015. These impact sites have damage signatures strongly consistent with the detonation of large, air-dropped munitions, including improvised barrel and conventional bombs dropped by helicopters. Damages that possibly result from the use of rockets, missiles, or fuel-air bombs are also likely in a number of instances.

Human Rights Watch also examined dozens of videos uploaded to YouTube of major impact sites, as well as videos of Syrian Mi-17 helicopters dropping both improvised barrel and conventional bombs on populated areas of Aleppo, the city of Daraa, and the town of Dael, in Daraa governorate. By matching video landmarks with satellite imagery and 3D models, Human Rights Watch determined the location, approximate time of day, and date of the attacks.

Human Rights Watch also examined dozens of videos uploaded to YouTube of major impact sites, as well as videos of Syrian Mi-17 helicopters dropping both improvised barrel and conventional bombs on populated areas of Aleppo, the city of Daraa, and the town of Dael, in Daraa governorate. By matching video landmarks with satellite imagery and 3D models, Human Rights Watch determined the location, approximate time of day, and date of the attacks.

Human Rights Watch met Samih’s niece and nephew, who had injuries consistent with Samih’s descriptions. The VDC also identified Bisan as one of the victims of the attack and published a photo showing her injuries.

Samih said the four adults killed were the driver of the small school bus, two brothers, and the wife of a local doctor. A video published on YouTube also says it shows one of the male victims of the strikes that day and identifies him as Iyad Mohammed Mustafa al-Sherif, but it is not clear where in Dael he was at the time.

Samih told Human Rights Watch there was no fighting in Dael at the time of the attack. He said that the police station is approximately two kilometers from where the small school bus was struck and that there were no checkpoints inside the village that could have been targets. He said the nearest military position was one kilometer to the north.

Human Rights Watch reviewed three videos published on YouTube reportedly showing the immediate aftermath of barrel bomb detonations in Dael on March 16, June 29, and July 7, as well as a video recorded on March 31 showing a Mi-17 helicopter dropping a single barrel bomb. The videos also show apparent civilians, including children, elderly men, and a woman in the immediate vicinity of the attacks.

Human Rights Watch identified the exact location of each of these sites by matching features in the videos with satellite imagery recorded before and after the attack. Analysis of satellite imagery recorded on August 15 showed evidence of over 30 major damage sites consistent with the detonation of large, air-dropped weapons including barrel bombs.

Talal told Human Rights Watch there was no fighting around the strike site at the time and that the nearest military position was a Free Syrian Army position 500 meters to the north.

The following month, on April 2 or 3, Talal said, he witnessed another barrel bomb attack in Inkhil. The attack stuck a resident’s house, killing a 22-year-old man whom Talal described as a civilian. “A big barrel hit, the second barrel didn’t explode … I was 200 meters away. I saw the helicopter and the barrel and then the second barrel,” he said. “We went to the house … [and then] took him to Jassem but he died on the road.” He said several other villagers were injured: “There were 13 injured that I saw, five kids, two women, and three or four old men. Eleven houses were affected.” A witness said there was no fighting in the middle of the village where the bombs were dropped.

Human Rights Watch identified multiple damage sites consistent with the detonation of barrel or other conventional bombs immediately next to and in the vicinity of the al-Omari Mosque in Inkhil with satellite imagery recorded both before and after the attack. Analysis of satellite imagery recorded on August 15 showed evidence of multiple damage sites consistent with the detonation of large, air-dropped weapons concentrated in the center of Inkhil, consistent with witness statements.

Yousef’s wife, who was in the house with their two children, was killed. “When I saw the plane I told them [the kids] to go inside,” he said. Human Rights Watch met Yousif’s children and observed their injuries. His son, 9, was injured in the attack, and doctors had to amputate both legs below the knee. His daughter, 7, had one leg amputated above the knee. Yousef told Human Rights Watch that his brother was also injured in the attack, but he believed he had survived. The VDC, however, identified his brother (name withheld) as having been killed in the attack. At least two other children were injured in the attack, Yousef said.

Yousif said there were no known military positions near the strike site and no fighters in the vicinity at the time. The nearest location with FSA fighters, a nearby village, was 2 kilometers away and the closest front line was 12 kilometers away.

Source: Human Rights Watch