855 people killed, injured in Syria in August

The percentage of human rights violations in Syria has increased by 29 during August, attacks on civilians increased by one percent, and the escalation between the conflict parties has increased by 85 percent. As for the activities of the Islamic State (ISIS), they have increased by 91 percent. These figures are based on data recorded by the Monitoring and Documentation Department at North Press and compared to the previous month of July.

The monthly report of the Documentation Department highlights the most prominent human rights violations that have been documented and recorded during August, 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 Department recorded 855 casualties during August: 427 cases of killing and 428 injuries. The 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 jurisdiction, but at the hands of conflicting parties and unidentified armed groups, due to the security chaos and multiple controlling forces in the country.

General toll of the victims:

The number of civilian casualties reached 395, with 124 deaths, including 31 children and 11 women, and 271 injuries, including 38 children and 26 women. Idlib and its countryside recorded the highest number of casualties at 102 people, then Deir ez-Zor with 70, Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region 59, Hasakah 46, Raqqa 35, the city of Aleppo 31, Daraa 17, Homs 13, Hama six, each Qamishli and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) five, Damascus four, and each Latakia and Suwayda one.

As for military casualties, the number reached 460, with 303 deaths and 157 injuries. The number is included among the four controlling forces in Syria as following: 170 deaths and 80 injuries within the ranks of the Syrian government forces, 12 deaths and 14 injuries among the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), 42 deaths and 46 injuries within Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front), eight deaths and three injuries of non-Syrian nationals, and 37 deaths and 14 injuries among the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The percentage of the casualties of war remnants increased by 13 compared to the previous month, resulting in 50 casualties including the killing of 12 children and the injury of 11 others, along with the killing of three women. Additionally, two men were killed and eight others were injured, while seven military personnel were killed and seven others were injured.

Regarding the shelling, the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria witnessed an 85-percent increase 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, 98 sites in the government-controlled areas were subjected to 110 strikes; the HTS targeted 93 sites with 100 strikes, Israel targeted three sites with eight strikes, and the government forces themselves shelled two sites with two strikes in Daraa, simultaneously with the popular protests to address the worsening economic conditions.

104 individuals fell victim to the airstrikes in these regions, resulting in 51 deaths and 53 wounded.

A total of 234 sites in areas controlled by the HTS were targeted with 293 strikes; the government forces targeted 218 sites with 235 strikes, and Russia targeted 16 sites with 58 strikes, resulting in 138 casualties, including 57 deaths and 81 injuries.

As for the SNA factions, 15 of their sites were targeted with 20 strikes; the government forces targeted 14 sites with 19 strikes, and the SDF targeted one site with one strike. These attacks resulted in one death and five injuries.

However, the Turkish forces targeted 49 sites in northern Syria with 63 strikes, including 16 drone strikes. These attacks resulted in 126 casualties.

Regarding arrests and enforced disappearances, the rate of arrests decreased by seven percent compared to the previous month of July. The Department reported 688 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 27 percent of the total arrests, as the HTS arrested 195 people, including four children, nine women, and two activists. The prominent charges against them include collaboration and espionage with other entities, some accused of involvement in carrying out assassination operations against HTS militants, while others were detained after being handed over by the Turkish border guards.

The government forces arrested 130 people, including one woman and five 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.

Russian forces arrested one person on charges of filming their military sites. In response to the arrest of one of their members, local groups detained six government forces.

The SNA factions arrested 191 people, including 10 women, nine children, and an activist; they were arrested on charges of affiliation with the AANES. Some of them were arrested after being deported from Turkey. Additionally, individuals who refused to participate in the protests that erupted following the US Treasury’s sanctions against two backed-Turkish factions were also arrested. Others were detained without known reasons, and the fate of many of them remains unknown.

In the areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), 38 people, two of whom were arrested under accusations of affiliating with ISIS. 

The Turkish forces, via their intelligence members and border guards, arrested 134 people, 98 of them were arrested by the border guards while attempting to cross the border to Turkey, including four women and two children. Additionally, 36 individuals were arrested by Turkish intelligence, with most of them being detained without known reasons, others were charged of dealing with the AANES, including five women and two children. Among the detainees, there are eight foreigners (Palestinian, Iranian, Afghan, Iraqi, Moroccan, Belgian, French, Russian), who were handed over by HTS.

ISIS activity

The pace of ISIS attacks in Syria decreased by 90 percent in August compared to July, with a total of 21 attacks. The group claimed responsibility for 12 of these attacks, 10 of them targeted the SDF, eight targeted the government forces, one the Iranian-backed militias, and two attacks targeted civilians. The attacks were in different regions as following: eight in Deir ez-Zor, four each in Hasakah, Raqqa, Homs, and one in Hama.

The number of casualties as a result of ISIS attacks in Syria reached 116, with 76 deaths and 40 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 13, including six children, additionally seven were wounded, including a woman; while 63 military personnel were killed and 33 others were injured due to the group’s attacks.

As for security campaigns against ISIS, 12 campaigns were conducted, during which 26 suspected were arrested and 16 were killed. The SDF conducted 10 campaigns, nine of them in cooperation with the US-led Global Coalition, including one airborne operation. As a result, 42 suspects were arrested, five were killed. Additionally, local armed groups in Daraa carried out one operation, leading to the arrest of two ISIS suspected and the killing of two others. Furthermore, the government forces carried one operation in which nine suspected were killed.

SNA and Turkish forces violations in Syria

In August, violations committed by the SNA factions left 17 injuries, including a woman and two children. The factions carried out 14 cases of seizing civilians’ properties in Afrin, in the north of Aleppo. Additionally, seven cases of royalties were imposed on the residents of Afrin by al-Amshat faction and the military police, while Hamza Division and the Northern Hawks Brigades imposed one case each, Jaysh al-Sharqiya imposed one case on residents of Jindires. Furthermore, an archaeological site in the countryside of Afrin was dug up and looted. The factions in Afrin also cut down 243 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 126 casualties, where 15 people were killed, including seven military personnel, a woman and two children, while 111 others were injured, including 14 military personnel, 13 women and three children.

The direct shooting by the Turkish border guards targeting asylum seekers attempting to cross the Syrian-Turkish border resulted in the death of three individuals and the injury of 38 others, including 11 women, one of whom was of Iraqi nationality. Furthermore, the assaults carried out by the border guards resulted in 42 injuries, including a child.

The unlawful and indiscriminate shelling by the Turkish forces on northern Syria resulted in 44 casualties, 12 cases of killing and 32 injuries, including four civilians, a woman and two children, and the injury of 18  individuals, including two children and  two women. Additionally, the shelling led to the killing of five SDF fighters and the injury of three others. Also, two government soldiers were killed, and 11 others were injured.

Regional and international moves on Syrian conflict

During August, 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.

On Aug. 8, the US Treasury Department announced the removal of the sanctions freeze on the Syrian government. These sanctions had been temporarily suspended in the aftermath of the destructive earthquake that affected both Syria and Turkey in February. Consequently, individuals and foreign companies are now required to obtain specific authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which operates under the US Treasury Department, in order to provide direct support for earthquake relief efforts to the Syrian government.

On Aug. 17, the US Treasury Department implemented sanctions on the SNA-affiliated the Suleiman Shah Brigade (al-Amshat), the Hamza Division, and their leaders. The sanctions were imposed due to their significant involvement in committing severe human rights abuses in northern Syria, including arbitrary detentions, kidnappings, extortion, confiscation of properties, torture, and various other forms of inhumane treatment.

On Aug. 28, the AANES handed over 64 children and 30 women of the families of ISIS of Kyrgyz nationals to a delegation from Kyrgyzstan.

The United Nations Security Council held three meetings regarding Syria, one of which was about the political situation on Aug. 23. During this meeting, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, warned about the consequences of the political deep freeze, pointing that Syrians both inside and outside the country continue to suffer severely from the conflict in Syria, He affirmed that the only path out of this is a political process that involves the Syrian parties themselves, in line with resolution 2254.”

In another meeting regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria, August 8, Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Adedeji Ebo, affirmed that the efforts of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in conducting the 25^th round of consultations with the Syrian government had not made any progress yet. During the same meeting, the UN reached an agreement with the Syrian government to facilitate the delivery of aid through Bab al-Hawa crossing for another six months.

In the same context, Human Rights Watch stated in a report dated August 22 that tens of thousands IDPs in overcrowded camps and shelters in northeastern Syria are not receiving continuous or sufficient assistance, which negatively affects their basic rights. They emphasized the urgent need to secure suitable weather-resistant shelters, adequate sanitation facilities, and access to proper food, clean drinking water, healthcare, and education.