661 people killed, injured in Syria in July

Introduction

During July, Syria witnessed a 2 percent decrease in the victims of human rights violations in the country. Similarly, attacks on civilians decreased by 13 percent, the escalation between conflict parties also decreased by 43 percent, while the activity of the Islamic State (ISIS) decreased by 31 percent. These figures are based on the analysis of data recorded by the Monitoring and Documentation Department at North Press and compared to the previous month, June.

The monthly report by the Documentation Department highlights the most prominent human rights violations that have been documented and recorded during July, based on information obtained from a network of field sources in various Syrian areas.

The report includes a toll of human rights violations, including killings and arbitrary arrests carried out by conflict parties. It also presents statistics on the number of individuals who lost their lives due to explosions of war remnants that were deliberately planted by certain parties on the outskirts of their controlled areas to protect themselves from hostile attacks, but end up causing dozens of civilian casualties every month.   

Add to this, the consequences and damages of indiscriminate shelling by the controlling forces in different areas on civilians and public properties, along with the activity of ISIS sleeper cells, and other issues that impact the rights of Syrians and disrupt their security and stability. 

Casualties of violations in Syria

The toll of casualties in Syria decreased by 2 percent compared to the previous month. The Department recorded 661 casualties during July: 284 cases of killing and 377 injuries These casualties were as a result of direct targeting, illegal indiscriminate shelling, torture, abuse, and other forms of inhumane treatment. All civilians were not killed by means of the jurisdiction, but at the hands of conflicting parties and unidentified armed groups, due to the security chaos and multiple controlling forces in the country.

The general toll of the victims is as follows:

The number of civilian casualties reached 390, with 140 deaths, including 21 children and 17 women, and 250 injuries, including 50 children and 35 women. Damascus and its countryside recorded the highest number of casualties at 70 people, Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region 56, Daraa 50, the city of Aleppo 48, Idlib 37, Deir ez-Zor 36, Raqqa 32, Hasakah 18, each Ras al-Ain (Sere Kaniye) and Hama 12, Homs eight, Suwayda five, each Latakia and Kobani two, and each Manbij and Tel Abyad one casualty.

As for military casualties, the number reached 271, with 144 deaths and 127 injuries. The number is included among the four controlling forces in Syria as following: 63 deaths and 57 injuries within the ranks of the Syrian government forces, 23 deaths and 21 injuries among the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), nine deaths and 15 injuries within Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) and 21 deaths and 29 injuries of non-Syrian nationals, and 28 deaths and five injuries among the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The percentage of the casualties of war remnants increased by 22 percent compared to the previous month, resulting in 44 casualties including the killing of five children and the injury of six others, along with the killing of a woman and the injury of another. Additionally, two men were killed and five others were injured, while 13 military personnel were killed and 10 others were injured.

Regarding the shelling, the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria witnessed a 43 percent decrease in military escalation, shelling, and ongoing clashes between the government forces and the HTS, and between the government forces and the SNA factions. During the month, 55 sites in the government-controlled areas were subjected to 69 strikes; the HTS targeted 45 sites with 48 strikes, Israel targeted four sites with four strikes, the SNA factions targeted one site with one strike, unknown groups targeted one site with one strike, and the government forces themselves shelled four sites under the control of local groups and former opposition members. As a result, 19 deaths and 15 injuries were reported.

A total of 111 sites in areas controlled by the HTS were targeted with 121 strikes; the government forces targeted 108 sites with 119 strikes, and Russia targeted 3 sites with 2 strikes, resulting in 11 deaths and 31 injuries.

As for the SNA factions, six of their sites were targeted with 21 strikes; the government forces targeted five sites with 10 strikes, and they targeted another site with 11 strikes during an attack on a Turkish military base. These attacks resulted in four deaths and 17 injuries.

However, the Turkish forces targeted 42 sites in northern Syria with 104 strikes, including six drone strikes that resulted in 38 casualties.

Regarding arrests and enforced disappearances, the rate of arrests increased by 159 percent compared to the previous month of June. The Department reported 738 arrests in Syria as a whole by the parties to the conflict. The highest percentage of arbitrary arrests was monitored in the HTS-controlled areas which accounted for 56 percent of the total arrests, as the HTS arrested 415 people, including six children, 42 women, and an activist. Some were arrested during a campaign executed against opposition members under charges of incitement and threats to internal security, while others were military personnel who were arrested during a security campaign for accusing them of treason and working as agents for external parties. 

The government forces arrested 45 people, including one child and three media activists. No arrest warrants were issued for most of the arrested people. They were arbitrarily detained without a clear reason for their arrest or the authority responsible for their detention.

Iranian-backed militias arrested 40 people, most of them were arrested following armed clashes with a group of tribesmen in a town of Deir ez-Zor Governorate. This was done to suppress any move against Iranian-affiliated militias. Furthermore, local groups in Suwayda Governorate detained a number of civilians and two government officers with the aim to pressure the government’s security agencies to release their detainees.

In the areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), six people were arrested under accusations of affiliating with ISIS.   

The SNA factions arrested 123 people, including 13 women, 13 children, and an activist. Among them, 13 people were forcibly deported from Turkey. Additionally, the factions demanded ransom for their release. Others were arrested on charges of affiliation with the AANES, including some asylum seekers who were arrested while attempting to cross the Syrian-Turkish border. However, the reasons for the arrest of some others remain unknown. It is worth mentioning that 28 of the arrestees were released, while the fate of the others is still unknown.

The Turkish forces, via their intelligence members and border guards, arrested 109 people, seven of them were transferred from the prisons of the SNA factions and the HTS to Turkish territory, including two foreigners; an Iraqi and a Somali. However, the other 102 people, including 20 women and five children, who were asylum seekers, were arrested by the border guards while attempting to cross the border to Turkey. They were later handed over to the SNA factions. 

ISIS

The pace of ISIS attacks in Syria decreased by 31 percent in July compared to June, with a total of 11 attacks. The group claimed responsibility for nine of these attacks, five of them targeted the SDF, one targeted the government forces, one the Iranian-backed militias, and four attacks targeted civilians. The attacks were in different regions as following: six in Deir ez-Zor, one in Hasakah, and two in Homs and Damascus.

The number of casualties as a result of ISIS attacks in Syria reached 76, with 22 deaths and 54 injuries. These casualties resulted from direct targeting by ISIS or by using explosive devices and mines. 

In details, the ISIS attacks resulted in the killing of 11, including a woman and a child, and 43 injuries, including three women and 17 children. While 10 military personnel were killed and 11 others were injured due to the group’s attacks.

As for security campaigns against the group, the SDF conducted eight campaigns, five of them in cooperation with the US-led Global Coalition, including three airborne operations. As a result, nine suspects were arrested, three were killed, and one was injured.

SNA and Turkish forces violations in Syria

In July, violations committed by the SNA factions caused 24 casualties, where six people were killed, including a woman and two children, and 18 others were injured, including two women. The factions carried out two cases of seizing civilians’ properties in Afrin, in the north of Aleppo, one case of theft, 11 cases of royalties imposed on the residents of Afrin by al-Amshat faction, and one case by the Sultan Murad faction on the residents of Ras al-Ain (Sere Kaniye). The department also documented a case of sabotage at the Yazidi shrine of Sheikh Hamid near the village of Qastal Jendo in Afrin. Furthermore, the archaeological site of Tel Qibar in the same region was dug up and looted, and three cases of burning fruit and forest trees were reported. The factions in Afrin also cut down 229 fruit and forest trees.

The Turkish forces continue to commit human rights violations in Syria through their indiscriminate shelling of areas in northeastern Syria and direct targeting of asylum seekers. This resulted in 96 casualties, where 15 people were killed, including a woman, and 81 others were injured, including 12 women and 11 children.

The direct shootings by the Turkish border guards at asylum seekers while attempting to cross the Syrian-Turkish border led to the death of an Iraqi woman and the injury of 15 other people, including a woman and two children. Additionally, a 50-year-old man was injured during his existence in his agricultural land near the border. Furthermore, the border guards’ assault caused the injury of 41 people, including seven children and nine women.

The unlawful and indiscriminate shelling by the Turkish forces on northern Syria resulted in the death of 13 people, including a civilian man and the injury of 25 others, including two children, two women, and eight men. Additionally, Regarding the shelling led to the killing of 11 SDF fighters and the injury of two others. Also, one government soldier was killed, and 11 others were injured.

Regional and international moves on Syrian conflict

During July, a number of human rights reports, statements, and political and humanitarian decisions were issued regarding the Syrian conflict, and several UN and international meetings were held, and changes in positions and decisions regarding the country took place. 

Following the forced deportation of Syrian refugees from Lebanon during April and May, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report indicating that the Lebanese army arbitrarily arrested and deported thousands of Syrians, including children unaccompanied by their relatives, to Syria, and mentioned that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees confirms that Syria is not safe, and called on governments that fund the Lebanese army to pressure on it to end the deportation of Syrians with summary procedures and asked them to conduct an assessment of the human rights situation and pressure on Lebanon to allow an independent reporting mechanism to ensure that funding does not contribute to or continue human rights violations.

On July 13, during the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution calling on Syria to comply with its responsibilities towards respecting and protecting human rights for all persons within its authority and in accordance with Syria’s obligations under international law. The resolution urged the all parties to release those forcibly disappeared in Syria and provide accurate information to the families of the missing people about their fate and whereabouts, and called on all parties of the conflict to deal more effectively with sexual violence and gender-based violence in various parts of Syria, and it condemned the restrictions imposed on journalists and civil society in Syria calling on all parties to respect human rights for all.

On July 7, Canadian authorities arrested two women after they arrived in the country with three children after being returned from camps in northeastern Syria. The Royal Canadian Police said that criminal investigations are still ongoing, and the two women have been subjected to “peace bonds” under which they pledge not to disturb public order.

On July 12, in an exclusive statement to North Press, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the catastrophic consequences of cutting off water to nearly a million people in the city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria, and called for the protection of civilian infrastructure and allowing safe access to the Alouk water station that serves the region. The organization’s spokeswoman also called for providing safe corridors and regular and unhindered access for technical and humanitarian staff so that Alouk water station can operate without another interruption.

In the same context, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights, specifically in the file of rights to safe water, Pedro Araujo Agudo canceled his visit to Syria due to lack of complete information and cooperation by the Syrian government, saying that “Despite my ongoing efforts, I feel bad because the authorities in Syria did not provide information or take the necessary steps to complete this visit.”

On July 11, the Security Council failed to renew the United Nations mechanism for delivering aid across borders to northwestern Syria, after Russia used its veto power against renewing the mechanism for 12 months.