503 casualties in Syria in February 2023

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The earthquake that hit Syria on Feb. 6 has created a shift on political, military, and economic levels and aggravated the humanitarian situation for Syrians. Compounded by the suffering caused by war, it has become a double crisis. The earthquake killed and injured more than 11.000 people and affected some 30 percent of Syrians, according to statistics from the Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press.

The monthly report highlights the most prominent events related to the humanitarian situation and human rights violations, documented in February 2023 by a network of field sources across Syria.

The report includes the number of human rights violations, killings, kidnappings, and arbitrary arrests by all parties to the Syrian conflict. It also includes statistics of victims of war remnants purposely planted by some groups, leading to dozens of civilian casualties every month.

It contains the toll of indiscriminate shelling by different powers and its effects on civilians and public property. It also surveys ISIS activity, and ongoing deteriorating crises affecting the humanitarian situation, violations against quake survivors and other issues affecting the rights of the Syrian people and the country’s stability and security.

Human rights violations

Violations in Syria declined by 31 percent during February, following the earthquake, as authorities were occupied with political matters and how to influence public opinion to get as much aid as possible for their regions.

The Monitoring and Documentation Department recorded 503 cases of killings and injuries by different illegal methods. 184 people were killed, and 160 injured. 12 children lost their lives in violations that occurred in Syria, and 22 others were wounded, in addition to seven women dead and 13 injured.

Most civilian deaths were registered in Homs and its countryside, where 60 people were killed and injured in ISIS attacks against civilians, followed by Deir ez-Zor, with 55 killings, and Aleppo and its countryside, with 52 killings.

The total number of casualties of war remnants in Syria was 78, including five children, 21 men, four military personnel dead, as well as the injury of 12 children, one woman, 25 men, and ten military personnel.  

The military casualties in Syria reached 95 dead and 61 injured, distributed between the four controlling forces on the ground in Syria. The casualties included 70 dead and 41 wounded among Syrian government forces, 11 dead and two wounded among Turkish-backed armed opposition factions (known as the Syrian National Army – SNA), one dead and eight wounded among Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front), eight dead militants of foreign nationalities, and eight dead and ten injured among the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The parties to the conflict did not cease shelling and armed clashes despite the earthquake and the UN’s call for a ceasefire, as the majority of military casualties were killed in combat with enemy forces.

Taking this into account, 17 attacks targeted government-held areas, of which 11 were conducted by the HTS, three by Israel, and three by the SNA factions. Similarly, the government forces conducted 19 attacks against areas under the HTS’ control and 26 attacks against opposition-held areas in Aleppo Governorate.

On the other hand, Turkey continued its unlawful attacks against border areas under the pretext of fighting terrorism, even as civilians have been staying outside in the open after the earthquake. In February, Turkey bombed Syria 26 times across 22 positions, including three by drones. Most of the attacks concentrated in and around Ain Issa, north of Raqqa, and caused the death of three people and the injury of two others.

In February, 80 people were arrested in various areas of Syria. The HTS arrested eight people, mostly foreigners. The Turkish-backed SNA factions detained 26 people, including three women and a child. The majority were accused of collaborating with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) or raising the Kurdish flag when receiving an aid convoy sent by the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) from Erbil in the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI).

11 people accused of joining ISIS were arrested in AANES-held areas. The Syrian government arrested 47 people, including one woman, on a variety of charges.

Earthquake

On Feb. 6, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Syria and Turkey, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands and leaving behind great destruction in both countries. The earthquake impacted Syria more as it already suffers from the consequences of a 12-year war, which is ongoing, and faces crises on all levels. The earthquake caused the displacement of more than five million people, the destruction of thousands of houses, and major damage to infrastructure. Four big cities – Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Idlib – were declared ‘disaster zones’.

Citizens’ basic rights to housing, shelter, food and security were affected, as were all layers of society. Nonetheless, the most affected were children, women, the disabled, and hundreds of thousands of detainees. The earthquake also had a direct impact on social justice in the country.

North Press’ Monitoring Department recorded 11.587 casualties, including 4.182 dead and 7.405 wounded. 1.288 buildings and houses were completely destroyed, over 3.100 partially collapsed, and more than 16.321 buildings sustained severe damages and cracks.

The earthquake increased IDP numbers in Syria. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR estimated about 12 million people were displaced, 6.7 million by the war, and 5.3 million by the earthquake, which means over half of the population of Syria are now IDPs.

The Syrian government took advantage of the humanitarian situation in the devastated areas to restore political ties, although it is considered a criminal authority subjected to sanctions and convicted in international courts. The government has imposed exorbitant amounts of taxes on affected people in order to rebuild and restore their houses.

The HTS, the SNA, and the Turkish government contributed to increased fatality numbers. Turkey closed Bab al-Hawa, the only border crossing between opposition-held areas and Turkey, as only dead bodies of Syrian quake victims were let through. Turkey should have sent relief aid and heavy vehicles to lift the rubble but instead ignored Syrians in need of aid in areas under its control.

In areas under the control of the SNA factions and the HTS, which faced a shortage of fuel for rescue vehicles, authorities did not allow fuel tankers sent by the AANES to pass. Turkey did not allow the passage, according to testimonies of figures within the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) and the SNA obtained. The sources confirmed that the Salvation Government – HTS’ political wing – and the SNC refused the entry of aid based on the Turkish orders.

ISIS activity

In February, ISIS killed 105 people and injured 29 others through direct targeting and by planted landmines.

ISIS attacks declined by 40 percent compared to January, with 18 attacks, including seven against civilians, six against the SDF fighters, and five against the government forces. It caused 109 casualties, 97 dead and 12 wounded. Nine attacks occurred in Deir ez-Zor, four in Homs, and one each in Hasakah, Raqqa and Hama.

In the years before their territorial defeat, ISIS planted landmines on roads and lands, which killed ten people and injured 19 others last month.

The SDF, supported by the Global Coalition, conducted ten security operations, including four airdrops, against ISIS in Syria, killing eight suspected ISIS members and arresting five others.

Two attacks that ISIS carried out in the Syrian Desert against truffle hunters were by far the deadliest since the beginning of 2023, as 62 people lost their lives between both attacks.

ISIS is taking advantage of the earthquake’s aftermath and the preoccupation of the authorities in quake-devastated areas to rebuild the group and expand its attacks in different regions of Syria in order to free its members and their families from camps and detention centers.

Turkey and SNA violations 

Despite the earthquake that hit Syria, where most cities under the control of the SNA factions were declared as disaster areas, the factions did not stop its violations against locals. The SNA factions and the Turkish army killed three people and wounded 35, of which 31 were assaulted and tortured while trying to cross the border. They also arrested 21 people, including three women, for different charges, most notably of dealing with AANES, which is a charge used by the factions to arbitrarily arrest civilians. They also detained two people for raising the Kurdish flag when receiving the aid convoy sent by the BCF.

The SNA factions are considered the worst offenders for human rights violations during the Syrian conflict, which constantly occur in areas under its control. The violations are evident in the indiscriminate destruction of houses of quake-affected people without inspection or the permission from owners, stealing and seizing financial aid provided to affected people, and racial discrimination against Kurds, especially in the distribution of aid. The department recorded the seizure of more than 1,000 tents sent for the affected people of Afrin.

The factions carried on cultural and environmental violations as well. In February, 1,475 trees belonging to the people of Afrin were cut down. The factions also took advantage of the return of Kurdish Syrian refugees from Turkey to their home towns and imposed a tax of $1.000 on each returnee.

The Turkish government did not consider the tragic situation of the Syrian people and caused the death and injury of 22 people. It targeted 22 positions, mostly civilian, with 26 strikes in northeast Syria at a time people were staying in the streets for fear of aftershocks. The shelling killed three people and injured two others.

The Turkish border guards continued violations against asylum seekers trying to cross the Syrian-Turkish border. The guards beat and directly targeted them, killing four people and injuring 13 others, including one child and two women.

International and regional reactions

Following the February 6 earthquake, many political and human rights reports and data were issued regarding Syria. Several international and UN meetings were held relating to the humanitarian situation in Syria and the aid delivery mechanism to quake-affected people.

Syria witnessed many international interventions and changes to official stances and decisions in order to better provide humanitarian assistance.

On February 10, the sanctions imposed on Syria were partially lifted and on an ad hoc scale. This came in a statement by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office which introduced a “General License, which authorizes for 180 days all transactions related to earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations.”

The European Union decided to ease sanctions on Syria to speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid by relief organizations without seeking prior permission for a period of six months. 

As for assistance, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called for a ceasefire in Syria in order to ensure the delivery of assistance to everyone.

Paulo Pinheiro, Chairman of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (IICI) on Syria, also called on all parties to the conflict in Syria to abide by a comprehensive ceasefire to enable humanitarian and rescue workers to reach those in need “without fear of attacks.” The Committee urged the international community to “act rapidly to provide humanitarian aid and support and calls on all parties to provide immediate and unfettered humanitarian access to all areas affected by the earthquakes to provide life-saving assistance.”

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, also called for “non-politicization” of assistance to be delivered to Syrians affected by the earthquake.

In the same context, the United Nations Emergency Fund allocated an additional $25 million to strengthen Syria’s earthquake response.

Dozens of countries provided relief and medical assistance and rescue teams to Syria, and government-held areas in particular, since the first day, unlike Syrian opposition-held areas, which received no assistance until five days after the disaster.

Several Arab and foreign delegations visited Syria to stress their support for the country and those affected by the earthquake, mainly a UN delegation that visited areas of northwest Syria under the control of the Syrian opposition and visits by foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Oman, and other countries.

Recommendations

  • HTS and other opposition factions in the northwest must cease violations against civilians and their property.
  • Relevant authorities and operating NGOs should seek to help the affected and provide material and psychological support and find ways to care for surviving children.
  • The IICI should investigate violations committed by the factions against civilians.
  • The Turkish government must stop its unlawful attacks against civilians and infrastructure in north Syria.
  • The Turkish government must respect Syrian refugees present in its territories and not deport them forcibly under any circumstances whatsoever.
  • The Turkish government must end war crimes and violations committed by Turkish border guards against Syrian asylum seekers trying to cross into Turkish territory.
  • All parties to the conflict in Syria must abide by their duties to protect and respect individuals and safeguard all their rights.
  • All parties to the conflict in Syria must stop committing violations against civilians.
  • All parties to the conflict in Syria must release arbitrarily arrested detainees from prisons and disclose their fate.
  • The International Security Council must refer the situation in Syria to the Criminal Court to end violations against international humanitarian law and human rights and hold every party accountable for their crimes.  
  • The Security Council should reassess the needs and situation in Syria and find a new mechanism for delivering UN assistance to deprived areas in northern Syria.
  • The SNA factions must stop human rights, cultural and environmental violations in areas under its control.