Syrian-Russian Alliance Forces Heavily Intensify Their Attacks and Target Civilian Facilities and Areas in Northwestern Syria
I. SYRIAN-RUSSIAN ALLIANCE FORCES ESCALATE THEIR ATTACKS IN NORTHWESTERN SYRIA, KILLING 13 CIVILIANS, INCLUDING FIVE CHILDREN
Between October 14-16, 2024, northwestern Syria was the target of intensified bombardment and attacks by Syrian-Russian alliance forces. During this period, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented multiple and daily airstrikes by Russian forces involving fixed-wing warplanes and the use of highly explosive missiles, targeting areas in Idlib governorate,2 north-ern rural Latakia, and western rural Hama. These attacks, which were concentrated in civilian and forested areas, as well as in areas close to the dividing lines and to camps housing internally dis-placed persons (IDPs), were carried out without any warning being issued beforehand, posing a horrendous, lethal threat to civilian lives and properties.
Concurrently, Syrian regime forces carried out ground attacks involving the use of artillery weap-ons and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) carrying explosives, otherwise known as kamikaze drones, targeting civilian areas in rural Idlib and western rural Aleppo. In total, SNHR documented the killing of 13 civilians, including five children, and the injury of 42 others to varying degrees, in this latest offensive, which also caused widespread destruction to homes and civilian facilities.