Paris – Syrian Network for Human Rights:

Wednesday, November 23, 2022, marks the fourth anniversary of the assassination of the activist and prominent Syrian revolutionary figure Raed al-Fares who was assassinated at the hands of masked gunmen in an area under the control of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who shot at the car he and his colleague Hamoud Jneed were travelling in on Friday November 23, 2018. This was not the first attempt on Raed’s life; in fact, he himself had told us that he survived an assassination attempt in 2014, not to mention many assaults and arrests by HTS.
Born in 1972 in the city of Kafranbel in the southern suburbs of Idlib governorate, Raed, along with other activists, created and wrote anti-regime slogans on the walls in the early stages of the popular uprising. Raed also helped organize the first demonstration in his home city of Kafranbel, which was held after the Friday Prayer on April 1, 2011, making him a wanted man by the Syrian regime’s security agencies from the very first days of the uprising, with his house raided on multiple times.
Raed was among those who pioneered the idea of writing the date and the name of the city where the demonstration was taking place on every banner in the demonstration. Arguably more than anything, he was known for the protest banners’ iconic artwork and incisive slogans. Indeed, Raed and the artist Ahmad Jalal pioneered the caricatures of Kafranbel that became a trademark of the city’s demonstrations. The wonderful creativity, dedication and commitment sown into these caricatures made the Syrian people avidly await every Friday to see each new caricature. Soon enough, these caricatures became a revolutionary custom and symbol, not only for Kafranbel, but for the entire Syrian popular uprising for freedom.

In 2012, Raed founded Radio Fresh which was the first radio station to broadcastin areas that broke free of the regime’s control. He later launched a website for the radio channel. Subsequently, he co-founded the Union of the Revolutionary Bureaus (URB), an umbrella group housing many media and service enterprises, including Radio Fresh, al-Mantara Magazine, Maraya Center for Women, Children’s Office, Women’s Office, Labor Office, and Aish Campaign, among others.

Naturally, Raed al-Fares’s activism, the mark he left on many civil and awareness projects, his calls for freedom and democracy, and his repeated condemnations of tyranny and of the violations and practices of extremist groups, made him a target for all those opposing freedom. He was arrested and threatened on numerous occasions.

Raed al-Fares refused to flee his hometown and leave it up for grabs for extremist groups. He faced worsening pressure and threats before the final attack that claimed his life, especially after HTS arrested the lawyer Yaser al-Salim on Sunday, September 21, 2018. Despite all of these dangers, Raed decided to stay even if doing so would ultimately cost him his life.

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Paris – Statement by the Syrian Network for Human Rights:
 
The operation carried out by the US-led coalition forces on Thursday, February 3, 2022, which targeted a residential house consisting of two floors and a basement in the north of Atama village in the northern suburbs of Idlib, demonstrated that leaders and members of ISIS extremist organization might be deployed in many areas, including areas that have never been controlled by the organization, such as Atama village and others. We have documented dozens of occasions on which the organization took civilians as human shields and took cover among them in the areas it controlled. Raqqa city may be one of the most prominent examples of this, with SNHR highlighting the subject previously, revealing that ISIS confiscated many civilians’ homes under the pretext of the supposed “blasphemy” of their owners and the “confiscation” of their money, turning these homes into residences for its security and military leaders and living among civilians, most of whom the group referred to as infidels, while at the same time using them as human shields. ISIS has also used its own members’ families as human shields, including women and children.
 
We at the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) have documented the deaths of at least 3,048 civilians at the hands of the US-led coalition forces, including 925 children, since September 2014 up to the current date (in the last attack on the house where ISIS leader Abdullah Qardash was staying, we documented civilian casualties, including women and children; investigations are still underway to determine how this happened); many of these civilians were killed due to the US-led coalition forces’ failure to observe the principle of proportionality in international law, which is based on the attacking party’s carefully assessing the context before determining the legality or illegality of the attack. Any attack that will cause losses and damages exceeding the potential military advantage is prohibited, so a balance must always be maintained between the means, the goal, and the action results.
 
ISIS bears the responsibility of residing in civilian neighborhoods, which poses a threat to all these neighborhoods and bearing responsibility for endangering the families of its members. It should also be noted, however, that the Syrian regime, Russia, and Syrian Democratic Forces are all exploiting this situation to stigmatize entire areas as incubators for extremist organizations, in an attempt to give the appearance of being primarily concerned with combating terrorism and using this as justification for the indiscriminate or deliberately targeted bombing of residential areas, bearing in mind that the areas whose populations have been worst affected by extremist organizations have been those areas under the group’s control, whose residents have been subject to laws dating back to the most barbaric periods of the dark ages. Recently, we issued two reports on violations by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham and ISIS against Syrian society, which highlight this issue.
 

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Press release (Link below to download full report):
 
Paris – The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) issued a report today on the most notable ISIS violations against the Syrian society and ISIS’ contribution to distorting the popular uprising calling for freedom and dignity, in which SNHR reveals that ISIS has killed 5,043 individuals, including 32 due to torture, since the organization’s establishment, noting that despite the passage of almost two years since the defeat of ISIS, the fate of 8,684 persons forcibly disappeared by ISIS remains unknown.
 
The 42-page report, which provides a brief background on the roots of ISIS and its establishment in Syria, notes that ISIS emerged two years after the start of the popular uprising in Syria in March 2011, in which the Syrian people called for freedom and dignity, with the Syrian regime responding to these calls with brutal violations, some of which amounted to crimes against humanity. Extremist organizations benefited from the chaos and the continuation of the conflict in Syria for more than two years, capitalizing on the apparent complete impunity accorded to the Syrian regime, the lack of any prospect of a political solution, and the widespread despair and anger at the regime’s use of chemical weapons, barrel bombs, lethal torture and other heinous practices to create a narrative based primarily on falsely positioning the extremists as the only alternative willing to right these injustices and avenge the regime’s victims, which ISIS claimed it would achieve by establishing a state supposedly built on Islamic foundations. The report provides a summary of the most notable violations committed by ISIS in Syria, and focuses mainly on the issue of persons forcibly disappeared at the hands of ISIS given that this is still an ongoing, active issue and that insufficient efforts have been made to address it.
 
Fadel Abdul Ghany, Director of SNHR, says:
“There was a glimmer of hope among the families of persons forcibly disappeared by ISIS that after the defeat of the organization, the fate of their loved ones would be revealed. However, more than two years since the organization lost its last strongholds, their fate remains unknown. Frustration, mixed with intense anger, prevails among the families, and the more time passes, the more complex and difficult the task of revealing the fate of the disappeared becomes.”
 
This report relies mainly on analysis of the SNHR team’s continuous daily monitoring and documentation of violations committed by ISIS, pointing to a change in the areas of control whose peoples were subjected to most of the violations documented were concentrated in the areas that were subject to ISIS crimes in the governorates of Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zour and Aleppo, given that these were the main ISIS-held areas and were under its control for a longer period compared to areas in other governorates such as Damascus, Daraa, Hama or Homs. The report’s methodology is also based on an analysis of documents obtained by SNHR, some of which come from open sources while others were provided by witnesses, in addition to photographed publications that ISIS circulated to residents of the areas it controlled as well as interviews SNHR conducted with witnesses and survivors of ISIS’ detention centers; victims who were subjected to other types of violations by the organization, who come from different governorates and include civilians, activists, or workers in several fields; and family members of victims. The report provides 10 accounts as a qualitative sample.
 
Since April 2013 until January 2022, the report documents the deaths of at least 5,043 individuals, including 958 children and 587 women (adult female), at the hands of ISIS or as a consequence of ISIS’ actions. As the chart provided in the report shows, this death toll was distributed as follows: 4,428, including 910 children and 539 women were killed through unlawful combat attacks; 32, including one child and 14 women, were killed due to torture and neglect of health care; and 536, including 31 children and 24 women, were killed by execution following summary and arbitrary trial proceedings. The report also documents the deaths of 47 individuals, including 16 children and 10 women, who died due to lack of food and medicine as a result of the siege imposed by ISIS on their areas.
 
Data analysis shows that 2017 was the worst year in terms of the death toll from extrajudicial killings, followed by 2016, 2015, then 2018. Meanwhile, another chart in the report shows the distribution of the death toll of extrajudicial killings at the hands of ISIS according to the Syrian governorates from which the victims originated, the highest death toll from extrajudicial killings was seen in Deir Ez-Zour governorate, which accounted for 30.43% of the total, followed by Aleppo, Raqqa, then Homs.
 
As the report reveals, at least 8,684 of the individuals forcibly disappeared by ISIS since the announcement of its establishment in early April 2013 are still documented as forcibly disappeared as of January 2022, including 319 children and 255 women (adult female). According to the cumulative linear graph of this record, 2016 was the worst, followed by 2017, 2015, then 2018. The report also provides a chart of the record of detainees/forcibly disappeared persons held by ISIS according to the Syrian governorates from which the victims originated, which shows that Deir Ez-Zour governorate is ahead of all other governorates, accounting for 18.63 %, followed by Aleppo, then Raqqa. The report also provides a chart of the record of detainees/forcibly disappeared persons held by ISIS according to the location of the detention/ kidnapping incident, which shows that Raqqa governorate is ahead of all other governorates, followed by Deir Ez-Zour, Aleppo, then Homs.
 
As the report further reveals, ISIS carried out at least five chemical weapon attacks, all in Aleppo governorate. These attacks injured 132 individuals.
 
The report notes that ISIS’ enforced disappearances have remained an unresolved issue for years, and that what distinguishes this issue is that these individuals’ fate has not been revealed, despite all the former ISIS detention centers being liberated and no longer under the organization’s control. As the report further notes, ISIS has practiced enforced disappearances on a widespread basis against all groups in society and in every area it controlled or was present in, using this as a weapon of terror and intimidation and as a strategy to deter and crush its opponents, including activists, dignitaries and influential figures, as well as during its attacks on areas outside its control. ISIS also specifically targeted foreigners with the aim of obtaining huge sums of money in ransoms, as well as journalists, aid workers, media activists, humanitarian organizations’ personnel, members of ethnic and religious minorities, and individuals accused of violating the extremist doctrines and edicts imposed by the group, whether religious or otherwise. Those forcibly disappeared also included fighters from groups opposing ISIS.
In a related context, the report provides a map of the most prominent detention centers used by ISIS, and confirms that these detention centers were empty when ISIS withdrew from each of the areas as it evacuated prisoners from its detention centers upon withdrawing. Accordingly, the report stresses the importance of seriously investigating the issue of the individuals still missing and forcibly disappeared by ISIS.
 
As the report further reveals, those detained and forcibly disappeared by ISIS were subjected to extremely cruel torture methods. ISIS used methods of torture similar to those practiced by the Syrian regime. The report provides details of the 17 most prominent methods of torture characteristically used by ISIS, meaning those methods which its members practiced repeatedly and extensively; these number 15 physical methods and 2 psychological methods.
 
The report documents the deaths of dozens of detainees at ISIS’ hands and provides details on five of the main types of killings carried out by ISIS against detainees, namely the killing of detainees before reaching detention centers, killing detainees before withdrawing from areas under ISIS control, killing detainees by assigning them dangerous jobs that could lead to their death, killing detainees through very summary procedures, and killing detainees in ostentatious ways which confirm ISIS’ indifference to their victims’ lives.
 
The report notes that the US-led Coalition forces played an essential role in eliminating ISIS, with the SDF taking control of the territories that had been under ISIS control. This controlling force bears civil, legal and human rights responsibilities to the society it now controls. The issue of the persons forcibly disappeared by ISIS is one of the most prominent and important issues affecting tens of thousands of families in these areas. Despite the defeat of ISIS since March 2019 from its last stronghold in Deir Ez-Zour, and many months before that from the governorates of Raqqa and Hasaka, no real efforts have been made by the controlling force to reveal the fate of the forcibly disappeared.
 
The report stresses that as a party to the internal armed conflict, ISIS is legally compelled to abide by international humanitarian law. ISIS also took control of large areas of land, and, therefore, as a dominant force, it is compelled to respect international human rights law.
The report adds that ISIS has clearly violated the principles of distinction and proportionality in many bombardment incidents, with some attacks causing material and human losses. Such indiscriminate attacks on populated areas constitute a terrible violation of international humanitarian law.
ISIS has violated international humanitarian law by using an internationally prohibited weapon, and thus has committed a war crime, as well as violated the Security Council resolutions in this regard.
 
The report notes that ISIS has committed widespread violations of international human rights law against the people in areas under its control through kidnappings, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and torture, and also prevented people from leaving the areas under its control in order to exploit them for cover and use them as human shields. ISIS has also perpetrated acts of violence against the detainees it held, including torture, poor detention conditions, and summary executions against civilians and prisoners from the ranks of Armed Opposition fighters, SDF, and Syrian regime forces, in violation of Common Article III to the Geneva Conventions, and customary international law, amounting to a war crime.
 
As the report reveals, the international community and UN Security Council’s negligence in failing to resolve the conflict in Syria has contributed to strengthening ISIS’ power and ability to spread its extremist ideology, resulting in the continuation of tyranny and human rights violations.
The report recommends that the UN Security Council and the international community should support local communities and organizations that contribute to spreading religious and political awareness based on respect for human rights, and to take serious steps to end the conflict in Syria, including establishing a strict timetable for the political transition process in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254, as this process has remained stagnant since the Geneva Communiqué of June 2012 to date.
 
The report further stresses that extremist organizations pose an existential threat to all the people of Syria and possess material resources that enable them to pay the salaries of their fighters. It is imperative to support all moderate societal factions in their war against such globalized extremist organizations, with all possible forms of financial and military support.
 
The report also provides several other additional recommendations.
 

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Press release (Link below to download full report):
 
Paris – In its report released today on the most notable Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS) violations since the establishment of Jabhat al Nusra to date, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reveals that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham continues to commit multiple types of human rights violations, mainly in its detention centers. The report documents the deaths of at least 505 civilians at the hands of HTS, including 71 children, 77 women, and 28 deaths due to torture, in addition to at least 2,327 individuals who are still arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared by HTS.
 
The 73-page report provides a brief background on Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, addresses the reality of the curtailment of rights and freedoms in the areas under HTS control, details the HTS’ judicial system and al Hesba Apparatus, and talks about HTS’ detention centers, in addition to the methods of torture practiced in these centers. The report additionally provides a summary of the most notable violations by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham since the announcement of the establishment of Jabhat al Nusra in Syria in January 2012 until the end of 2021.
 
This report relies mainly on the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) team’s continuous daily monitoring and documentation of violations committed by Jabhat al Nusra, which went on to become Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, indicating that there has been a significant change in the areas that have been brought under Jabhat al Nusra/Jabhat Fateh al Sham/HTS’ control since 2012 up to the current date. The report notes that most of the violations have been concentrated in those areas of Idlib and Aleppo governorates that were subject to HTS’ control, especially since these areas were under HTS control for longer periods of time compared to areas in other governorates, such as Deir Ez-Zour, Hama or Damascus Suburbs.
The report’s methodology is based on interviews conducted with witnesses, survivors, victims’ families, local activists, lawyers, judicial workers, and former members of opposition factions. Although the SNHR team interviewed around 85 people while conducting research for this report, the report contains excerpts from only 22 of these interviews. This report is concerned primarily with HTS’ lack of respect for international humanitarian law during battles with adversaries in connection with the internal armed conflict, as well as more broadly on providing details of the basic rights and freedoms of individuals in areas under HTS control. In this context, the report notes that the term ‘control’ does not refer only to military hegemony or management of economic resources or to a political role, but most importantly to the respect shown for the human rights of the population in the areas under the group’s control since this respect, rather than superior military power and dominance, is the source of the controlling forces’ internal legitimacy.
 
As the report reveals, the judicial system, which is made up of many judicial bodies, which are almost entirely separate from each other with no coordination among them, does not base its decisions on specific and known judicial rulings and regulations, instead relying mainly on ministerial circulars and instructions, which are considered to be the legal code regulating the work of the courts, as well as depending mainly on ministerial circulars and instructions that are the closest thing to legislation in regulating the courts’ work, with no formal law governing the procedures regulating the work of the courts, except for “the Code of Procedure”. The judiciary also depends on students of religion or law in many administrative and judicial positions, with these students being either affiliated with or blindly loyal to HTS, leading to an overall lack of legal expertise, independence, and efficiency among HTS’ judiciary.
 
Between the beginning of 2012 and December 2021, the report documents the deaths of at least 505 civilians, including 71 children and 77 women, at the hands of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham. As the chart provided in the report shows, this death toll was distributed as follows: 371 civilians, including 69 children and 67 women, were killed through unlawful combat attacks; 28 civilians, including 2 children, were killed due to torture and neglect of health care; and 106 civilians, including 10 women, were killed by execution following summary and arbitrary trial proceedings.
 
Data analysis shows that 2014 was the worst year to date in terms of the death toll from extrajudicial killings of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham’s victims, followed by 2013 and 2015 with an equal number of victims, then 2019. Meanwhile, another chart in the report shows the distribution of the death toll of extrajudicial killings at the hands of HTS according to the Syrian governorates from which the victims originated; the highest death toll from extrajudicial killings was seen in Idlib governorate, which accounted for approximately 35% of the total, followed by Homs, Aleppo and Hama.
 
As the report reveals, at least 2,327 of the individuals, including 43 children and 44 women (adult female), detained by HTS since the announcement of the establishment of HTS’ forerunner in early 2012 are still either arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared by the group as of December 2021. At least 2,103 of these individuals, including 19 children and 28 women, have been forcibly disappeared. According to the cumulative linear graph of this record, 2015 was the worst year in terms of the numbers of detentions/enforced disappearances, followed by 2018, 2019, then 2017. The report also provides a chart of the record of detainees/forcibly disappeared persons held by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham according to the Syrian governorates from which the victims originated, which shows that Idlib governorate is ahead of all other governorates, accounting for 67% of the total, followed by Aleppo, Hama, then Damascus Suburbs.
 
The report explains that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham follows a calculated policy of persecution based on first summoning opposition activists, protesters, and critics of the Salvation Government’s policies for questioning in order to restrict their activities by coercion or intimidation, with this stage being viewed as both a warning and a threat. By pursuing this policy rather than immediately detaining critics, HTS avoids sudden detentions, providing itself with a superficial appearance of being reasonable in front of society and even the activists’ families. This policy of issuing initial ‘warnings’ has been used mainly with prominent activists and social figures. By contrast, with ordinary civilians whose arrest is unlikely to provoke any public outcry or reaction, HTS simply arrests them directly, without resorting to this preliminary stage, which includes asking activists to pledge not to repeat what they are accused of doing, and even to apologize, and ask for mercy. Summoned persons often acquiesce and pay a fine, which may be accompanied by a few days’ imprisonment and suspension from practicing their profession, all in exchange for not being detained or forcibly disappeared for years. In this context, the report documents at least 273 cases of summonses/threats issued by HTS between 2017 and December 2021. We have found clear evidence of coordination between the various security apparatuses and the civil and judicial institutions established by HTS (which it denies being linked to) in organizing and issuing these summons/threats.
 
The report also reveals the existence of at least 46 permanent detention centers affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al Sham in Idlib governorate, the western suburbs of Aleppo governorate, and Latakia suburbs in northwest Syria. The report estimates that these detention centers hold approximately 2,327 detainees either imprisoned or forcibly disappeared by HTS, dozens of whom have spent long periods of up to five years in detention, with the vast majority of these prisoners categorized as forcibly disappeared, and almost all also subjected to some form of torture. In addition, the report also reveals the existence of at least 116 temporary detention centers, in which the investigations and interrogations took place, as well as providing a detailed presentation of the most prominent of these centers.
 
As the report further reveals, Hay’at Tahrir al Sham uses multiple torture methods within its detention centers, which are similar or identical to a great extent to the torture methods practiced by the Syrian regime in its detention centers. The report provides brief summaries of the 22 most notable torture methods characteristic of HTS, distributing these into three main categories, namely 13 physical torture methods; 8 psychological torture methods; and forced labor. The report also provides sketches depicting these torture methods.
 
The report reveals that Syrian women in the areas controlled by HTS suffer from negative discrimination generally, with their suffering increasing exponentially if they are working or wishing to work in public affairs, or in civil society organizations of whatever kind, whether media, relief-oriented, or political. The report documents many incidents in which women who have been involved in public affairs have been subjected to harassment and intimidation in an effort to force them to abandon their work. In a related context, the report documents at least 108 incidents in which women were targeted because of their work or opposition to HTS practices during the period from the beginning of 2014 until December 2021.
 
The report stresses that HTS is a major military party to the internal armed conflict in Syria, stressing that it must abide by the customary rules of international humanitarian law since it has controlled large areas since its establishment to date, and, therefore, as a dominant force with a political structure and entity, it must abide by the principles of international human rights law. The report adds that HTS has clearly violated the principles of distinction and proportionality in many bombardment incidents, with some attacks causing material and human losses. Such indiscriminate attacks on populated areas constitute a terrible violation of international humanitarian law.
 
HTS is also responsible for numerous and widespread violations of international human rights law against the people in the areas under its control, such as kidnappings, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and torture, and through issuing unfair rulings issued by courts that in no way comply with the basic rules of fair trials.
 
The report calls on the UN Security Council not to delay the completion of its efforts to bring a satisfactory resolution to the conflict in Syria, warning that any failure to do so will contribute to strengthening the power of HTS and spreading extremist ideology, leading to the continuation of tyranny and human rights violations. The report also calls on the Security Council to take serious steps to end the conflict in Syria, including setting a strict timetable for the political transition process in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254, as this process has been stagnant since the Geneva Communiqué of June 2012 to date.
 
The report additionally recommends that the international community and influential states should support vital civil society organizations in areas of northern Syria, which stand as a line of defense against extremist organizations by spreading awareness and providing services, and to support the formation of a local police apparatus that is strong and coherent to defend the residents against abductions and assaults, which should pave the way to relative stability and security.
The report furthermore calls on the international community and influential states to add the Iranian, Iraqi and other Shiite extremist organizations, which are openly supported by the state of Iran, to the lists of designated terrorist organizations and to target and obstruct these entities in line with other extremist Islamist groups.
The report also provides several other additional recommendations.
 

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Press release:
 
(Link below to download full report)
 
In its report released today, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) condemns extremist groups’ displaying photos during Idlib and Raqqa protests of the terrorist who killed the French teacher Samuel Paty, noting that more work is needed to expose the extremists and their backers, and to strengthen society to enable an escape from the symbiotic evils of the Syrian regime and extremist groups.
 
The five-page report explains that on Friday, October 30, 2020, popular protests took place in several areas of northwest Syria outside the control of the Syrian regime, with protesters denouncing the insulting portraits of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and also condemning what they viewed as offensive statements about Islam.
 
The report reveals that some of the protesters attending these demonstrations displayed photos of terrorist Abdullah Anzurov, the Chechen man who brutally slaughtered a French teacher named Samuel Paty on October 16, near the French capital Paris, for displaying cartoons insulting the Messenger Muhammad to his students in the school where he taught.
As the report reveals, the Chechen terrorist’s picture was displayed by some protesters at three of these protests, two of which were called for by institutions or bodies affiliated with the extremist group Hay’at Tahrir al Sham in Idlib city, which is under its control.
 
In regard to the popular uprising towards democracy in Syria, the report recalls the events that the uprising has endured, including simultaneous attacks by both the Syrian regime and extremist groups, noting that the al Qaeda affiliate al Nusra Front announced its presence in Syria nearly a year after the start of the popular uprising in March 2011, in which the people demanded freedom from the tyrannical ruling regime, and the fundamental right to live with dignity; this was followed by the establishment of the ISIS terrorist group in April 2013. The report points out that the Syrian regime’s response to these demands has been to perpetrate numerous types of violations against those demanding freedom and democracy, some of which amount to crimes against humanity, since the first months of the popular uprising.
 
The report stresses that violence in any society is the product of a complex variety of circumstances and contexts, noting that there are four main causes of violence in Syrian society, which are summarized in the following points:
 
1- The practices of authoritarian regimes, whose continuous looting and harnessing of the state’s resources in their favor have serious negative repercussions on the political, social and economic levels within society.
 
2- A nihilistic worldview in which injustice is the norm rather than the exception has spread among many in Syrian society as a direct result of the brutal violations by the Syrian regime on the one hand, and the non-intervention of the international community and failure to provide any protection for civilians on the other.
 
3- Any peaceful popular uprising by oppressed people demanding democracy and respect for human rights constitutes a fundamental threat to every totalitarian dictatorial regime, with the Syrian regime being the primary example of this, as well as posing the same threat to extremist groups, with both the Syrian regime and extremist groups needing a cowed and subservient populace. Given this shared interest, both the Syrian regime and extremist groups agree to weaken, threaten and terrorize society in order to subjugate and control it; the Syrian regime uses the capabilities of the Syrian state, including the security services and the army, to suppress society, while religious extremist groups label the vast majority of society as infidels unless they submit to the extremists’ warped perception of religion, with both the Syrian regime and extremist groups offering only two choices to those under their brutal rule: either accept their absolute power unquestioningly or be arrested, tortured, and/or killed.
 
4- The Syrian regime benefits from creating favorable conditions for the emergence of extremist groups in order to justify its own brutal violence and to validate its claim to be killing terrorists; likewise, the extremist groups benefit from the violence of the Syrian regime to recruit members, exploiting religious texts, taking advantage of the ignorance of many and mobilizing gullible young people from all over the world to join their ranks and adopt their extremist ideology.
 
The report notes that extremist groups have benefited from social media platforms in marketing and promoting their aspirations and ideologies, further noting that many non-religious youths have also joined these extremist groups, stressing that the regime’s machinery of repression and the lack of any economic and political horizons has pushed some Syrians and non-Syrians to join these extremist groups.
 
The report stresses that displaying the photo of the Chechen terrorist constitutes a violation of the rights of the Syrian people, and an attempt to impose extremist symbols and an extremist agenda on it; this is achieved via armed force, threats and terrorism. SNHR condemns the displaying of this or any other terrorist’s photo and all terrorist operations carried out by extremist groups, including the spread of extremist ideology.
The report emphasizes that extremist groups are actively spreading their ideology, and relentlessly trying to alienate society, isolating the people from the context of their culture and faith, which makes it easier for these groups to recruit as many people as possible into their ranks, mainly based on cynically exploiting the legitimate grievances resulting from the Syrian regime’s continuing crimes against humanity, and the lack of any political and economic hope on the horizon.
The report calls for a deeper understanding of the causes behind the spread of these violent phenomena and practices, in order to work to combat them and to sever their roots.
 
The report calls on the international community and the United Nations to work seriously to achieve a political transition towards democracy and human rights in Syria, stressing that the political transition is the only way to get rid of both the Syrian regime and the extremist groups, both of which consider democracy to be intolerable. The report recommends that a timetable must be set for the completion of this political transition, because leaving it open-ended means increased dissemination of the causes of extremist thought, and thus a greater proliferation of extremism, violence and terrorism.
The report also recommends that the international community and the United Nations should enhance the strength of Syrian society by providing more relief assistance, including in education and healthcare, and supporting local Syrian organizations working in the field of awareness, citizenship, and psychological rehabilitation.
Lastly, the report calls on the international community and the United Nations to target all terrorist groups whatever their sectarian or ethnic orientations.
 

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Press release:
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reveals in its report released today that the Hurras al Din (Guardians of Religion) group is responsible for kidnapping and forcibly disappearing six activists working for relief organizations in Idlib, with SNHR urging the release of the detainees, the activists, and the prisoners of conscience as a precaution for fear of their being infected with the coronavirus.
 
The five-page report outlines the history of the establishment of the Hurras al Din group in February 2018, with the terror group’s leaders founding it after their defection from the al Nusra Front group. The report notes that the Hurras al Din group controls four secret detention centers containing approximately 113 detainees.
The report relies on the accounts of a number of former detainees who were released by the Hurras al Din group after being detained in its detention centers, noting that the group often does not claim responsibility for the kidnappings or detentions it carries out in order to avoid unnecessary antagonism with local communities.
 
The report notes that the Hurras al Din group considers itself to be one of the branches of al Qaeda and gives its allegiance to the terror group’s leader Ayman al Zawahiri. The group, which is controlled by jihadists from various nations around the world, primarily Jordan and Tunisia, is not considered to possess any independent military capacity and strength; therefore, it often resorts to alliances with other extremist groups, including Jamaat Ansar al Tawhid, Jabhat Ansar al Din and others, when carrying out military attacks on areas outside its control. The report also notes that the Hurras al Din group lacks any real central leadership, with each of its subordinate groups managing its own affairs and planning and carrying out kidnappings or killings, according to whatever each group perceives as useful at a given moment in achieving its objectives.
 
Since the beginning of 2020, the report has documented at least eight kidnappings targeting local activists working mainly in humanitarian organizations and charities in Idlib governorate; six of these individuals were detained by Hurras al Din group, as part of its policy of repression, restriction, and terrorizing of civil society organizations operating in Idlib governorate, and to take advantage of the current chaotic conditions in the northwest areas of Syria to carry out security operations.
 
The report further explains that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, after seizing control over large areas of Idlib governorate, is responsible for the significant decline in the support of countries and international organizations for local organizations working in the relief field, with hundreds of their employees being affected; this has also added to the burden on their families. The report accuses HTS of exploiting the presence of another extremist faction such as Hurras al Din to present itself as a more local faction, but as the report notes HTS has played no significant role in local affairs or assisted the local community in any way as it attempts to claim. As the report states, SNHR learnt from a number of detainees’ families with whom it communicated that they had contacted the HTS security apparatus following their loved ones’ disappearance and provided data about the kidnappers to help in their rescue, emphasizing that some of the kidnappings took place in areas where HTS maintains checkpoints and military roadblocks; despite this, HTS has taken no action over these incidents to date.
 
The report stresses that abductions, enforced disappearances, and restrictions on local communities’ freedoms carried out by extremist Islamist groups, including Hurras al Din group (the Guardians of Religion) have resulted in many more activists and their families being displaced and fleeing to other areas outside these groups’ control for fear of arrest and an unknown fate.
 
The report accuses the Hurras al Din group of committing widespread violations of international human rights law against the people in the areas under its control through kidnappings, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and unfair rulings issued by courts that in no way comply with the basic rules of fair trials.
 
The report calls on the international community and the Security Council to accelerate the political transition process towards democracy in Syria to expedite the process of ending extremist groups which live on wars and conflicts.
As the report states, the failure of the international community and the Security Council to deter the Syrian regime from committing crimes against humanity, which allow it to act with total impunity, is a historic and gross injustice that enables extremist groups to find support and to gain traction for their extremist doctrine in recruiting members of Syrian society, with the report calling for allocating resources and creating plans to try to attract and dissuade those who joined extremist groups through financial inducements, appeals to morality and reasoning, and raising awareness.
 

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Following initial investigations, SNHR has announced that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, which has almost complete control of Kafranbel city in Idlib governorate, is the party most probably responsible for the assassination of Raed Fares and Hamoud Jneed on Friday, November 23, 2018.
In attempt to pre-emptively gain legitimacy through the use of terror and intimidation prior to the Turkish-Russian Agreement which came into force on September 17, Hay’at Tahrir al Sham carried out a number of raids on different villages, arresting dozens of individuals in the process at a time when the Syrian people were hopeful that a truce would contribute to completely eradicating the presence of extremist groups. In reality, however, the outcome of the truce was the direct opposite of this, with Hay’at Tahrir al Sham expanding at the expense of civil and moderate forces. Their ability to do so can be traced back to a chronic lack of any adequate support to strengthen civil society in north Syria that could enable the people there to effectively resist these terrorist groups’ strength and influence in light of the unfortunate complete absence of any form of strategy by the states that depict themselves as friends of the Syrian people despite these states’ constant reiterations of their claim that they wish to fight extremist groups.
 
SNHR noted, in its nine-page report released today, on Wednesday November 28, 2018, that eradicating those civil society movements which aspire to democracy is a shared goal of both the Syrian regime and these extremist groups since such movements pose an existential threat to the legitimacy of all such entities. When Syrian society is safe from the influence of the terrorism of both the Syrian regime’s security bodies and extremist groups, it inevitably sides with the civil community movement.
 
The report includes initial investigations into the assassination of prominent activist Raed Fares and fellow activist Hamoud Jneed. The report draws upon analysis of evidence, information, and photos collected from witnesses and other sources by SNHR. The report also features a first-hand account of the killing from the only individual who survived the assassination attempt, along with two other accounts from SNHR interviews with eyewitnesses. According to the initial investigations, there is strong reason to believe that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham was the party most probably responsible for the terrorist assassination.
 
The report also sheds more light on the life of Raed Fares who, with his artist friend Ahmad Jalal, was one of the masterminds behind the concept of drawing caricatures on the banners displayed during demonstrations. Raed Fares was also one of the first to write the date and name of the city where the demonstration was taking place on the banners that were carried by protesters at the demonstrations The Syrian people used to impatiently await each Friday to see the latest banners from Kafranbel, thanks to their creativity, stylish nature, and reliable weekly appearance. Kafranbel’s banners became a tradition and an internationally renowned potent symbol of the popular uprising for freedom. The report also notes that Raed Fares was the founder of the Union of Revolutionary Bureaus (URB) – an umbrella organization for a number of media and service projects, such as Radio Fresh, al Mantara Magazine, Mazaya Women’s Center, the Children’s Office, the Women’s Office, the Labor Office, and the ‘Eeesh Campaign’ (Live) and others. Additionally, Raed founded the group Lawyers for Freedom in 2014.
The report sheds light on the arrest and assassination attempts that targeted Raed Fares against the backdrop of his activism, leadership, and contributions to a number of civil and awareness-raising projects, in addition to his repeated criticism of oppression and of all extremist groups, which made him a prominent strategic target for terrorist groups. According to the report, Fares had received several death threats from leaders and security figures at Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, which had escalated particularly after Hay’at Tahrir al Sham arrested the lawyer Yaser al Salim on Sunday, September 21, 2018.
On Friday, November 23, 2018, at around 12:00 Damascus time/10:00 GMT, as most people were attending local mosques for the Friday prayers, a van followed activist Raed Fares’ car as he was driving accompanied by fellow activists Hamoud Jneed and Ali Dandous. After he parked the car, masked gunmen opened fire at the activist Raed Fares’s car, to kill Raed Fares and Hamoud Jneed.
According to the report, the gunmen retreated immediately after the operation which was planned to coincide with the Friday prayers, knowing that most residents would be at the mosques performing the weekly prayer, which facilitated the assassins’ movements, and helped them to pull off their terrorist act without being identified or recognized by people.
Some of the city residents confirmed that they had seen the killers’ vehicle heading east after the operation, adding that it was last seen heading towards the city center. It should be noted that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham has set up its checkpoints at the northern and western exits to the city, while the group has no checkpoints at the eastern and southern roads leading out of Kafranbel.
 
The report stresses that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham has almost complete control of Kafranbel and, as such, bears responsibility for the lives of its residents. Secondly, the group has signally failed to condemn, investigate, or show the slightest concern for the terrorist assassination that horrified the city’s residents and killed one of Kafranbel’s most prominent figures. In addition, extremist Islamic groups have become well known for adopting the type of operational strategy seen in the murder of Raed Fares and Hamoud Jneed in many of their killings and assassinations. Hay’at Tahrir al Sham has even dissolved the local police force in Kafranbel, with members of the group now taking sole responsibility for police and security responsibilities. Moreover, Hay’at Tahrir al Sham stood to directly benefit from getting rid of an individual whose influence, symbolic importance and legitimacy far exceeded their own. Raed Fares had the ability to directly influence the residents of his city, promoting a message of hope and democracy that explicitly rejected the group’s extremist project.
 
The report calls on the international community and influential states to work to provide financial and logistical support for the active local councils who are experiencing either an open or concealed conflict in the areas of northern Syria with Hay’at Tahrir al Sham which is trying to dominate or dismantle these councils, as the latter continue their efforts to thwart the influence of the extremist groups by raising awareness and providing services. In addition, the report stresses that the political transition to democracy must be accelerated and the new Syrian state must be assisted in restoring security and stability, as well as supporting the formation of a robust and coherent local police force to defend the residents.
 
The report calls on the OHCHR to monitor the violations taking place in areas under Hay’at Tahrir al Sham’s control and its damaging effect on civilian life in Idlib governorate, and to submit effective recommendations to the international community in this regard.
 
The report calls on all the armed opposition factions operating under Hay’at Tahrir al Sham to quickly detach themselves from its body, expose its practices, and arrange awareness campaigns on the ideologies of extremist groups, and how they infiltrate communities and recruit young men in tandem with workshops on the importance of respecting and defending basic human rights.
 

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SNHR’s report, which was released today entitled, “Hay’at Tahrir al Sham Exploits the De-Escalation Agreement and Escalates Their Violations”, said that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham killed five civilians, including two children, and arrested no less than 184 individuals in less than two months, as the group has escalated their violations after the Turkish-Russian agreement came into force on September 17.
 
The report sheds light on the formation of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham group which is composed of Fateh al Sham Front (formerly al Nussra) in addition to a number of armed opposition factions, as well as Ansar al Din, who is an extremist Islamic group. The formation, the report notes, came in parallel with serious violations perpetrated by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham who carried out several attacks in areas in southern and western suburbs of Idlib, as well as the border areas with Turkey. The group continued their policies and methodology, enforcing whatever rulings they see fit through violence and coercion, as they actively sought to expand their areas of control at the expense of the moderate factions’ territories.
 
The 6-page report notes that the residents living in the areas that broke away from the Syrian regime’s control breathed a sigh of relief as rates of bombardment and killing dropped, enabling them to secure some basic needs, particularly those that require transportation between cities and villages. The forcibly displaced, namely the segment that was affected the most in those areas, were the ones who needed this kind of transportation the most. According to the report, however, Hay’at Tahrir al Sham’s violations resulted in destabilizing the state of security and stability which the society was in desperate need of, and caused panic in a number of villages and areas.
 
The report stresses that Friday’s demonstrations came back, as the indiscriminate aerial bombardment stopped in light of the most recent Turkish-Russian agreement, and some banners were notably seen in those demonstrations, where some local groups and activists were pursued by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham affiliates because of those banners and their discourse condemning the group’s practices.
 
The report sheds light on Hay’at Tahrir al Sham’s violations between the start of September and mid-October 2018. The report draws upon SNHR team’s continued monitoring of news and developments during, before, and after the time period covered by the report, as well as an extensive wide network of relations with dozens of various sources that have been over the years, as the report contains two accounts, in addition to analyzing videos and photos posted online, or the ones sent by local activists via e-mail, Skype, or social media which showed Hay’at Tahrir al Sham affiliates opening fire on protestors in Kafr Halab village.
The report records the killing of five civilians, including two female children, in attacks by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham between the start of September and October 15, 2018, as the group carried out raids on three villages – two in western suburbs of Aleppo, while the third, Ein Larouz, is located in southern suburbs of Idlib. The group used heavy weapons, mortar shells, and opened fire randomly on civilians in those attacks.
 
The report also documents no less than 184 incidents of arbitrary arrest and abduction carried out by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham in the same period of time. Most of the arrests and abductions were concentrated in the villages and towns of Jabal al Zawiya, southern suburbs of Idlib governorate, and Sarmada, al Dana, and Atama areas in northern suburbs of Idlib governorate.
 
According to the report, the arrest campaigns involved prominent figures and sheikhs who refused to praise Hay’at Tahrir al Sham in their sermons, as well as local activists who criticized some of the group’s practices on social media. The arrests also involved demonstration organizers who raised banners in protest of the group’s policies.
 
The report stresses that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham is in control of wide areas where they enforce their rule over the residents. The group has a political entity and abides by a hierarchical structure to a large extent. As such, Hay’at Tahrir al Sham is bound by the international human rights law. However, the group has committed wide violations through arrests and enforced-disappearances.
In addition, the group has violated the international humanitarian law through indiscriminate shooting which resulted in the killing of many civilians.
The report calls on the international community and influential states to support, financially and logistically, the active local councils who are undergoing a conflict with Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, whether publicly od discreetly, as the group is trying to dominate or dismantle these councils, support the vital civil society groups in north Syria who stands as a line of defense against extremist groups by raising awareness and providing services.
The report also stresses that Iranian, Iraqi, and other extremist Shiite groups that are openly supported by Iran, as well as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and all are cross-borders organizations, should be added to the lists of designated terrorist organizations and targeted and obstructed in line with extremist Islamic groups.
Additionally, the report calls on the OHCHR to monitor Hay’at Tahrir al Sham’s violations and its reflections on the lives of the civilians in Idlib, and submit effective recommendations to the international community in this regard.
 
The report adds that the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) should start investigating the incidents in this report and try to include them in their next report.
 
The report calls on all of the factions that had joined Hay’at Tahrir al Sham to urgently detach themselves from this formation, expose the group’s practices, and organize awareness campaigns on the ideals of extremist groups and how they infiltrate societies and recruit youths in parallel with workshops highlighting the importance of respecting and defending basic human rights.
 
Lastly, the report calls on Hay’at Tahrir al Sham to immediately cease agitating a state of chaos, infighting, and social resentment, respect basic human rights in their areas of control, immediately re;ease all arbitrarily arrested detainees, and translate their defection from Al-Qaeda into actions in reality, rather than limiting this step to a verbal declaration.
 

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SNHR has released a report entitled, “The Brutal Attacks on Suwayda governorate between the Terrorism of the Syrian Regime and ISIS” which documented the killing of no less than 154 civilians, including 15 children and 19 women (adult female) in the attacks on Suwayda governorate on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.
The 10-page report draws upon a number of accounts from eyewitnesses and victims’ families, in addition to analyzing videos and photos posted online. The report notes that the investigations into the Suwayda attacks took more time in light of the fact that SNHR doesn’t have an extensive communication base in Suwayda governorate, as the governorate hasn’t seen many violations compared to other governorates. The report notes that this is the bare minimum, which the report documents, in light of extraordinary difficulties and many residents’ hesitation to cooperate in fear of retaliatory acts by ISIS or the Syrian regime against them if they do so.
The report sheds light on some indications of coordination and harmony between the Syrian regime and ISIS prior to the Suwayda attacks, including transporting ISIS fighters who were in al Yarmouk Camp to al Badiya al Sharqiya, Suwayda governorate, which was followed by Syrian regime forces evacuating their bases in eastern suburbs of Suwayda, and then retreating from the most integral observation point in al Badiya – the Dayyatha point and disarming the popular committees, while some villages refused to surrender their weapons. According to the report, the attacks only targeted the villages that surrendered their weapons.
 
The report contains two accounts that talked about power and land communication being cut off in parallel with the raids, which made the task of sneaking into the villages easier for the attacking forces, while it made for a more difficult situation for the residents who couldn’t call for help or instantly recognize the criminals.
 
The report stresses that these attacks, which give away a scenario in which the Syrian regime used ISIS to attack the residents in Suwayda governorate, aim primarily to ask for the Syrian regime’s protection, and therefore it gradually taking back control of the area, and apply pressure on the Druze sectarian group to give up tens of thousands of youths to fight with Syrian regime forces, as they are suffering from a shortage of manpower to secure the stable area in Daraa governorates after Russian, Syrian, and Iranian forces managed to seize control back in late-July 2018.
 
According to the report, Suwayda city saw a series of attacks on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, between 05:00 and 07:00, where a number of gunmen wearing explosive belts carried out suicidal bombings in a number of neighborhoods in Suwayda city – at the vegetable market, by al Mashnaqa Circle, by al Najma Cricle, and in al Maslakh neighborhood. These attacks resulted in the killing of 24 civilians, including two women, while no less than 50 others were wounded.
 
The report adds that gunmen raided eight villages in the eastern and northeastern suburbs of the governorate – al Shbeki, al Mtouna, al Swaimra, al Shreihi, Gheidat Hamayel, Douma, Tarba, and Rami, in parallel of those attacks where they raided houses and executed people by shooting or slaughtering them using knives.
The report records the killing of 130 civilians, including 15 children and 17 women (adult female). In addition, the report records that around 29 civilians, including 18 children and 10 women, were abducted from al Shbeki village.
ISIS hasn’t claimed responsibility for the raids of the villages and the subsequent executions and abductions of residents who were taken as hostages as they have done with the bombings in the city. However, the investigations and the accounts included in the report suggest that ISIS fighters were indeed involved in perpetrating those crimes in coordination with some Bedu of Suwayda. In addition, the abductors’ requests are in line of releasing ISIS affiliates who are detained by the Syrian regime which raises the possibility of ISIS being responsible for the abductions.
 
The report records that three hostages and one fetus died. Of those, two hostages were executed (Mohannad Abu Ammar and Tharwat Abu Ammar), in addition to one woman who died due to poor health care, while the fetus died as a result of a premature birth.
 
The report stresses that the use of explosive arms to target populated residential areas reflect a criminal mentality and a deliberate intention to kill as many victims as possible. This explicitly violates the international human rights law, and constitutes a blatant violation of Articles 27, 31, and 32 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The report adds that the international humanitarian law prohibits taking hostages (Article 34 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, Article 75-2-c of Additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, and Article 4-2-c of Additional Protocol (II) to the Geneva Conventions). Taking hostages constitutes a war crime. In addition, the report notes that the Syrian regime’s practices have paved the way for ISIS to carry out their attacks. As such, the Syrian regime bears a significant responsibility in those incidents.
 
The report calls on the international community to work on establishing a path of political transition founded on removing and holding the criminals accountable, as, the report stresses, there is no putting an end to extremist groups as long as there are regimes who are manipulating, harnessing, and using these groups to terrorize the Syrian people.
The report also calls for aiding the victims of the terrorist attacks that were carried out by ISIS and provide educational and material support for the local communities to shield them from the risk of being intellectually conditioned and then actually recruited.
 
The report calls on the Security Council to take all possible measures to uphold the Resolutions adopted by the Security Council – most notably Resolution 2139, and find a way to stop the huge violations that are being perpetrated by the Syrian authorities and their militias who have been coordinating with ISIS in many areas. The report calls for referring the Syrian case to the International Criminal Court and all those who were involved should be held accountable. In addition, the report emphasizes that the militias that are fighting with the Syrian government and have perpetrated wide massacres, such as Iranian militias, the Lebanese group Hezbollah, other Shiite factions, National Defense Army, and Shabihas, should be added to the list of terrorist groups, and target and fight these groups same as extremist Islamic groups.
 
Moreover, the report calls on the OHCHR to submit a report to the Human Rights Council and other UN organs about this massacre and the massacres that preceded seeing that it is a glaring point in a string of daily massacres of lesser scope. Also, the OHCHR should work on upholding the recommendations of this report.
 
Lastly, the report calls on the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to launch investigations into the killing incidents that occurred in Suwayda governorate and other areas, stressing that SNHR is willing to cooperate.
 

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Photographer: Mousab Assaf

SNHR has released a report entitled: “Hay’at Tahrir al Sham Commits Wide Violations in Idlib Governorate” which highlights the most notable violations by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS) in its attacks on opposition factions to take over Idlib governorate.
 
The 13-page report sheds light on the most notable violations by HTS (an alliance composed of Fateh al Sham Front and a number of armed opposition factions) including killings, arbitrary arrests, security pursuits, and summons to Sharia Courts that targeted both activists and military fighters between mid-July and August of 2017.
 
The report notes that HTS has been trying recently to gain local and international legitimacy in their areas of control by attempting to provide social services at the expense of mitigating its oppressive and coercive methods, whereas HTS tried to combine between the two policies at times. In this context, the group’s media wing started promoting and repeating the term “civilian administration”. However, it is quite clear by looking at HTS’s Salafi-Jihadist, extreme structure, framework, and vision that the group is working towards establishing a governance based on its own understanding of the rules of Islamic law, which constantly leads the group to collide, contain, or infiltrate local councils.
 
The report adds that HTS look at local council as a competitor in the arena of providing services, in addition to the fact that these councils are popular due to their national characteristics that aims to re-establish a state governance on national grounds – a goal that HTS is at odds with, even though most of the group’s members are Syrians. Still, HTS lacks wide social leverage, mainly because of its extreme ideas, foreign leaderships, and widespread clashing with various local factions.
 
The report contains four accounts for victims who survived the arrest or pursuit attempts made by HTS. The report also documents that no less than 10 civilians, including two children, two victims who died due to torture, and one media activist. In addition, no less than 82 individuals, who are divided into 27 civilians and military fighters, were arrested by HTS in the period of time covered by the report.
 
According to the report, HTS raided six centers for relief organizations and seized their contents. Most of these raids took place on July 22, 2017.
 
The report stresses that HTS controls wide areas and imposes its authority on them and the residents living there. The group also has, to a great degree, political body and a hierarchy, and they are bound by the rules of the international human rights law. HTS has perpetrated widespread violations by arrest and enforced-disappearance operations and taking over properties. Also, the group violated the international humanitarian law through indiscriminate shelling that resulted in the killing of many civilians.
 
The report calls on the international community to provide financial and logistic support for the active local councils who are in conflict, public or unseen, with HTS that is trying to take over or dissolve these councils. Also, the report urges the international community to Support civil society organizations in Idlib governorate, and calls on the international community to add the extreme Shiite Iranian and Iraqi groups, and similar groups, and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which are all cross-border and publicly supported by Iran, to lists of terrorist groups. Also, these groups should be targeted and restricted, same as Islamic extreme groups.
 
Furthermore, the report calls on armed opposition factions that joined HTS to detach themselves from the group, expose their practices, organize awareness campaigns on the ideologies of extreme groups, and how to they infiltrate communities and recruit young fighters in parallel with workshops on respecting and defending basic human rights.
 
Lastly, the report calls on HTS to immediately stop generating chaos, fighting, and social resentment, respect basic human rights in its areas of control, Immediately release all arbitrarily-arrested detainees, return all seized properties and buildings, and compensate the affected organizations and individuals.
 

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SNHR has released a report entitled: “The Yellow Assault” which tackles the most notable violations in Raqqa governorate between November 6, 2016 and June 30, 2017.
The report sheds light on the historical context in Raqqa governorate since it was taken over by ISIS on January 12, 2014, and then the Kurdish-majority SDF’s “Euphrates’s Wrath” on November 6, 2017 until the encompass on Raqqa city in late-June 2017.
 
The report says that in spite of ISIS’s cruelty and brutality which was felt by the Syrian people, in general, and the residents of Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zour governorates, in particular, not a single eyewitness or resident of the ones that SNHR contacts expressed optimism in SDF, due to the fact that it was founded by a singular portion of the Syrian people through a party that dominated the Kurdish existence within the Syrian people, which was, as it is commonly known, founded by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party that is branded as a terrorist party by USA.
 
Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, adds:
“The killing and destruction, and the violations that resulted from all that, and the careless and apologetic behavior of the forces that perpetrated these violations, in addition to the lack of a local, popular faction, are among the most significant factors that will resurrect ISIS even if a military victory was achieved, as the elements and dynamics for an incarnation of ISIS do still exist. These elements must be addressed in parallel with a military war.”
 
The report draws upon the daily documentation and monitoring by SNHR’s team that is conducted routinely on a daily basis, and secondly, on accounts from survivors, eyewitnesses, and local media activists that we spoke with via phone and social media. Also, we have analyzed a large number of the videos and pictures that we found online, or were sent to us by local activists via e-mail, Skype, or social media. Some of the media published by local activists showed pictures of victims and burnt children victims, and a huge destruction in the infrastructure, and vital civilian facilities, while other pictures showed explosions of white phosphorus munition in the sky of Raqqa.
 
The report notes that the attacks included in this report in which air warfare was used were by international coalition forces, whereas artillery attacks entail a joint responsibility, considering that international coalition forces supplied SDF with these weapons, and some of these attacks saw a joint presence for forces during the artillery shelling. As such, we assigned responsibility in these attacks to SDF without relieving international coalition forces of the responsibility as they were, firstly, the party that supplied weaponry, and secondly due to the fact that SDF are supported and directed by international coalition forces.
 
The report adds that International coalition forces and SDF haven’t distinguished between civilians and fighters in many of the attacks, and haven’t considered the principle of proportionality in the use of force. Therefore, many of the attacks constituted war crimes. Moreover, we didn’t monitor any incidents were the attacking parties issued a warning for the civilians prior to the attack as the international humanitarian law requires.
 
The report outlines the most notable violations by the conflicting parties in the battle of Raqqa including killing, arrest, and targeting vital civilian facilities.
 
The report documents the killing of no less than 1400 civilians, including 308 children and 203 women (adult female), in Raqqa governorate – 731 civilians were killed by international coalition forces, including 210 children and 139 women, 164 civilians were killed by SDF, including 31 children and 31 women, and 505 were killed by ISIS, including 67 children and 33 women. Also, the report, records that international coalition forces perpetrated 53 massacres, while SDF and ISIS perpetrated four and six massacres respectively.
 
The report says that there have been 90 incidents of attack on vital civilian facilities including 90 by international coalition forces, whereas SDF were responsible for six incidents of attack on vital civilian facilities, and ISIS were responsible for 11.
 
According to the report, no less than 504 individuals were arrested, including five children and five women, in the period of time covered by the report. Of those, 117 were arrested by SDF, while the remaining 387 were arrested by ISIS.
 
The report stresses that the bombardment operations included in this report were a disproportionate, indiscriminate bombardments that constitute an explicit violation of the international humanitarian law. The crimes of indiscriminate killing qualify as war crimes.
 
Also, the report says that he incidents that involved shelling by international coalition forces and SDF have resulted in collateral damages that included civilian casualties, injuries, and serious damages to civilian objects. There are strong indicators suggesting that the damage was too excessive compared to the anticipated military benefit.
 According to the report, ISIS perpetrated widespread violations of the international humanitarian law against the residents living in its area of control including killing, arrest, and torture. We also recorded that the group barred residents from fleeing its area of control, in order to use them as protection and human shields.
 
The report calls on the International coalition forces have to respect the international humanitarian law and the customary international law, and take responsibility for the legal ramifications of the violations in these incidents. Also, international coalition forces need to make every effort to avoid a reoccurrence.
 
The report also stresses that international coalition forces have to unequivocally confess that some of the bombardment operations resulted in killing innocent civilians. Denying this by government won’t make much of a difference as the documented human rights reports and residents’ account blatantly expose these crimes. Instead, these states should work on launching serious investigations as soon as possible and compensate the victims and people who were affected and apologize to them.
 
Lastly, the report calls on the SDF-supporting states have to apply pressure on the group in order to cease all their offensives in all of the areas and towns they control, and start working on establishing local councils from the local community to govern these areas in a civil manner.
 

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