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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BY: Spokesman for the US-led coalition against ISIS, Wayne Marotto

Press release:
 
(Link below to download full report)
 
In its latest report released today to mark the sixth anniversary of the US-led coalition intervention against ISIS, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) calls for the start of reparations for 3,039 victims killed, reconstruction of vital facilities, and establishment of a democratically elected civilian body.
 
The 13-page report notes that although the painful strikes launched by the US-led coalition doubtlessly contributed to stopping the expansion of ISIS, and then to ensuring its decline, until it was confined to very small outposts, this success was accompanied by material, human and political losses, with the report calling for crowning this military victory with a political victory by starting to establish a local body representing all the groups within Syrian society and introducing reparations for victims, as well as launching reconstruction in areas where ISIS had been vanquished.
 
The report documents the deaths of 3,039 civilians, including 924 children and 656 women (adult female), at the hands of US-led coalition forces since the start of the US-led coalition’s military intervention on September 23, 2014, until September 23, 2020. The report includes the distribution of the death toll according to the years of intervention, with the third and fourth years witnessing the highest death toll. The report also reveals that the US-led coalition’s tactics in dealing with ISIS have changed over the years, noting that since the end of 2016, US-led coalition attacks have become more indiscriminate, with this period accounting for nearly 79% of the death toll among the victims whose deaths the report documented at the hands of the US-led coalition forces in the past six years.
 
The report documents that at least 172 massacres were committed by US-led coalition forces, along with at least 181 attacks on vital civilian facilities, 25 of which were on schools, 16 on medical facilities, and four on markets, between the start of the coalition’s military intervention in Syria and September 23, 2020.
 
The report also notes that at least five incendiary munition attacks have been carried out by US-led coalition forces since the start of their military intervention in Syria up until September 23, 2020.
 
The report reveals that the military operations in the governorates of Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zour and Hasaka caused the displacement of at least 550,000 people, noting that US-led coalition forces and Syrian Democratic Forces share responsibility for their displacement with the ISIS terrorist organization, which used many as human shields.
 
The report notes that since the beginning of 2020, US-led coalition forces have participated in raids and arrests carried out by Syrian Democratic Forces, claiming to pursue ISIS cells, through airdrops on the areas where individuals wanted by Syrian Democratic Forces are located, mainly in the governorates of Deir Ez-Zour and Raqqa, as well as in the southern suburbs of Hasaka. As the report reveals, cases of civilians with no links to ISIS being detained have been recorded, based on security reports from Syrian Democratic Forces, with a number of those detained being people with special needs and children; at least 122 individuals, including four children, were arrested by Syrian Democratic Forces personnel, with the participation of the US-led coalition forces, between September 2014 and September 20, 2020, of whom 56 individuals, including two children, have been detained since March 2019; that is, after the announcement of the defeat of ISIS.
 
The report stresses that a number of requirements have arisen following the military defeat of the ISIS terrorist organization which have not yet been met, noting that any military victory will be hollow and meaningless if it’s not accompanied by reparations for the families of those who were killed, and if the dispossessed, including those unjustly detained in camps, are unable to return home to their villages and towns, with real effort made to help them return and to help launch a process of genuinely democratic local elections, so that the people of these areas do not feel that they are once again languishing under military oppression, having already endured ISIS.
 
The report outlines eight points on which the US-led coalition must work seriously in order to help to achieve stability as quickly as possible, most notably holding local elections for a civilian governing body representing the population of three Syrian governorates: Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zour, and Hasaka, so that the people of al Jazira region do not feel that they are represented by the Self-Management body that was imposed on them as an unelected de facto authority; as the report notes, many areas in al Jazira region have witnessed angry popular protests, especially in Deir Ez-Zour governorate, given the current lack of any such democratic process despite more than a year-and-a half having passed since the defeat of ISIS.
 
The report further notes the need for the US-led coalition members to contribute to the reconstruction processes following the establishment of a democratically elected civilian body, to take a firm stand on the operations of Syrian Democratic Forces’ sales of oil and gas to the Syrian regime, especially after the implementation of the Caesar Act, to demand that the SDF disclose the expenditure of financial revenues from the sale of oil and gas, and to work to free the detainees in the northeastern region’s camps, whom the report considers to be forcibly detained, because they have been unable to return to their areas or leave the camps, with some of these camps turning into detention facilities resembling large prison camps.
 
The report stresses the need for supervision and effective management of the issue of mass graves, indicating that this subject remains one of the unresolved issues, with efforts to locate and exhume the victims buried there still being faltering and insufficient, with the report calling for devoting more resources and more financial and logistical support to supporting the teams responsible for uncovering and transporting dead bodies, stressing the need for securing and protecting the sites of these graves to avoid destroying the available evidence.
 
The report also urges the US-led coalition to contribute to the fight against landmines and IEDs, particularly since these are primary issues in discouraging displaced local people from returning to their homes, given the random and widespread distribution of landmines and IEDs, which are primed to explode at the slightest touch, along the area’s roads, among the rubble of houses, and even amongst home furniture. As the report reveals, at least 435 civilians have been killed by landmines in the governorates of Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zour and Hasaka between October 2017 (that is, after the withdrawal of ISIS from Raqqa governorate) and September 2020.
 
The report adds that the US-led coalition should contribute to disclosing the fate of approximately 8,648 citizens disappeared by ISIS, including 319 children and 225 women, in light of the Syrian Democratic Forces’ lack of any serious cooperation or of any actual investigation, and its indifference shown by its failure to launch even one investigation into the fate of these forcibly disappeared and missing persons; as the report notes, this further confirms that these forces are purely a military control force playing no role in civil and societal work and instead dedicating financial resources solely to their own security and military objectives.
 
Lastly, the report calls on the US-led coalition to follow up on the complete elimination of ISIS cells active in northeastern Syria, who continue to terrorize the population and to demand that shop owners pay ‘taxes’ and Jizya (tribute), especially in the towns of al Bseira, al Sh-heil, al Zer, al Hawayej, and Theyban, with the report noting that these cells exploit the fragile political and security situation in these crisis-hit areas, working in concert to attempt to once again expand the organization and empower its ranks.
 

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BY: Amnesty International – 25/04/2019

Press release:
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) states in its latest report, released today to mark the fifth anniversary of the intervention of the International Coalition forces against the ISIS terrorist group in Syria, that International Coalition forces must immediately begin compensating the victims and preparing for local elections in northeast Syria.
The SNHR laude the positive achievements of the International Coalition forces acknowledged in their last report, in which they noted that that the Coalition had conducted nearly 34,000 strikes as part of its operations to eliminate ISIS in Syria and Iraq and that its operations had helped to liberate nearly 110,000 square kilometers of land from ISIS control and to free 7.7 million people oppressed by the organization.
 
The report notes that whilst no-one can deny the Coalition’s contribution to defeating ISIS and undermining its grip on large swathes of Syria, unfortunately in many of these attacks, the International Coalition forces have failed to comply with the rules of customary humanitarian law, with these violations being perpetrated repeatedly, increasing the human and material cost. In terms of destruction caused by the International Coalition forces’ attacks, the report estimates that around 80 percent of Raqqa city was partially or totally destroyed in these attacks, which also partially or totally destroyed around 70 percent of the area between Hajin city and al Baghouz town in the eastern suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour.
 
The nine-page report compares the incidents of violations reported in the International Coalition Command’s reports, and cross-checks these with the SNHR’s database. The review processes conclude that although the International Coalition forces have admitted to the killing of 1,31`3 civilians in both Syria and Iraq, the death toll acknowledged by the Coalition in Syria and Iraq is only 43 percent of what the SNHR has documented in Syria alone.
 
The report further calls on the other states participating in the International Coalition to issue reports and investigations into incidents of violations in which civilians were killed, in the same way as the United States has done, explaining that this is the basis for knowing which country carried out the attacks that resulted in casualties. In this context, the report states that the British Ministry of Defense’ statement, in which it acknowledged the loss of only one civilian as a result of strikes carried out by the Royal Air Force on areas controlled by ISIS in Syrian and Iraq, does not suggest significant credibility.
 
The report outlines the strategy followed by International Coalition forces in the fifth year of their intervention, during which the International Coalition’s airstrikes between September 2018 and March 2019 were concentrated on the Hajin area; thanks to these strikes, the SDF was able to establish control over it, the report notes, adding that the Intensive airstrikes carried out by the International Coalition forces forced hundreds of ISIS members to surrender with their families and give themselves up to SDF forces who held them in al Hawl Camp in the suburbs of Hasaka. After March 2019, the report reveals, the type of military operations in the area changed to joint patrols between the International Coalition forces and the SDF to target the remaining ISIS cells. Despite supposedly being carefully planned and carried out to ensure high levels of accuracy, the report reveals, these operations have led to civilian casualties.
 
The report documents the deaths of 3,037 civilians, including 924 children, and 656 women (adult female) at the hands of International Coalition forces since the start of their military intervention in Syria up until September 23, 2019. The report includes the distribution of the death toll according to the years of intervention, with the third and fourth years witnessing the highest record of victims. The report also includes the distribution of the death toll by governorate, with Raqqa governorate saw the highest death toll, followed by the governorates of Aleppo and Deir Ez-Zour.
 
The report reveals that at least 172 massacres were committed by International Coalition forces, along with at least 181 attacks on vital civilian facilities, 25 of which were on schools, 16 on medical facilities, and four on markets, since the start of their military intervention in Syria up until September 23, 2019.
 
The report also notes that at least five incendiary munitions attacks have been carried out by International Coalition forces since the start of their military intervention in Syria up until September 23, 2019.
 
The report reveals that the military operations in the governorates of Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zour and Hasaka caused the displacement of at least 560,000 people, noting that International Coalition forces and the SDF bear responsibility for their displacement, along with the ISIS terrorist organization, which used many as human shields.
 
The report recommends that the Joint Command of the International Coalition forces should ensure political and economic stability in areas freed from ISIS control and make greater efforts to achieve democratically elected local governance and thereafter to support this economically and politically elected local body, thereby achieving political and social security and stability in those areas.
The report also calls on the International Coalition to open investigations into violations and abuses by the SDF and hold its leaders responsible for oil and gas smuggling operations to areas controlled by the Syrian regime, which has been subjected to economic sanctions by the US administration in particular, which is a key supporter of the SDF.
 
The report also urges the International Coalition to establish a mechanism to monitor financial revenues from the sale of oil and gas to ensure greater transparency and to prevent a large proportion of that money from being transferred to the PKK, which is classified as a terrorist organization, with such actions implicating the SDF in supporting and financing global terrorism.
 
The report stresses the need to request that the leadership of the SDF disclose all the money it has received from oil and gas since 2012 to date and provide a financial statement on where and how the money was spent, noting that funds may have been stolen for private accounts or for use in financing and supporting terrorism, adding that the backers of the SDF and PYD must end this support fully and immediately if they are proven to be transferring funds from Syria’s oil and gas revenues to the terrorist PKK.
 
The report also calls on the Joint Command of the International Coalition forces to support the coalition team working on investigating and following up on incidents with more manpower, and increase the current level of efforts and capabilities in this regard in order to dedicate greater attention to this issue, as well as creating a data map showing the areas worst affected by aerial attacks, and making greater efforts towards starting to address the economic and moral ramifications resulting from those attacks.
The report stresses the need to work seriously to provide the means for making a decent life for the forcibly displaced in displacement camps, and to publicly hold perpetrators of crimes to account and remove all those proven by investigations to have been involved in attacks that caused massacres against civilians.
The report also calls on the Joint Command of the International Coalition forces to assist the Syrian community in eliminating terrorist groups akin to ISIS, such as those terrorist groups supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran which have already begun to establish bases in Aleppo and Damascus Suburbs.
The report further calls on the International Coalition to provide appropriate medical care for those injured and wounded as a result of bombardment by International Coalition forces or the SDF, and to work to establish several medical centers in the most affected areas.
 
The report includes recommendations that more logistical and material support should be provided to help in the exhumation process from mass graves in areas which ISIS withdrew from, and that pressure should put on Syrian Democratic Forces to allocate a larger proportion of material resources in this regard, so that this process is not later deemed to be mismanagement of the remains and forensic mishandling, in which the Syrian Democratic Forces may be part of the same violations.
The report also calls on the Joint Command of the International Coalition forces to put pressure on Syrian Democratic Forces not to limit their efforts and resources to arming and stockpiling ammunition, and to make greater efforts in civilian operations and provide assistance to the local community.
 
The report urges the OHCHR to follow up on the issue of the forcibly displaced persons living in SDF-held areas, to issue a report on the violations they are experiencing and on the repercussions of the illegal attacks of International Coalition forces in Syria.
 
Finally, the report calls on Syrian Democratic Forces to prepare for local civil elections and for the transfer from military authority to democratically elected civilian leadership, and to refrain from any form of association or coordination with the PKK, which is classified as a terrorist organization, and to completely prohibit the publication of pictures of the PKK leader
 

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BY: Delil Souleiman/UNICEF

In its latest report, released today, the Syrian Network for Human Rights emphasizes the need for the International Coalition forces to launch further investigations and compensate the victims with the end of ISIS in Syria.
The 14-page report states that violations by International Coalition forces have become a widespread and frequent pattern in many cities and towns in Syria, which, according to the report, undermines the credibility of these forces, despite their declaration of a noble goal in helping to rid the Syrian people and the peoples of the world of terrorist organizations and the danger they pose. The delay by these forces, more than a year since defeating ISIS in several areas, in starting the reconstruction process, compensating victims, and establishing real local elections that lead to genuine stability in the north-east of Syria, has significantly adversely affected the coalition’s stated goals and objectives.
 
The report points out that none of the states participating in the International Coalition in Syria, except for the United States of America, have published any reports and investigations into incidents of violations in which civilians were killed, calling on all the member states to issue periodic reports in the event that their forces perpetrate incidents that cause human or material loss, and to acknowledge their responsibilities in terms of human rights and legal liabilities, as well as to revise their methodology so as to avoid subsequent violations.
 
The report outlines the previous SNHR reports documenting the most notable attacks by International Coalition forces since the start of their intervention in September 2014 and the subsequent killings and forced displacement of civilians for which the coalition is responsible. The report also sheds light on the unlawful attacks carried out by International Coalition forces in Syria from September 23, 2018, to March 2019, in addition to analyzing the data concerning violations perpetrated by International Coalition forces from September 23, 2014, to March 2019.
https://goo.gl/5sgjDA
 
The report notes that rather than reducing and mitigating the violations inflicted on civilians in their attacks over time, the International Coalition forces have actually increased the number of these violations since 2014. The report also includes an analysis of the attacks by International Coalition forces that we were able to document in our database, based on two variables: the toll of victims and the targeting of vital and civilian facilities. This systematic analysis concluded that the attacks by International Coalition forces began to assume a more chaotic and random character during the second year of the intervention by International Coalition forces, noting that the frequency of attacks and air strikes carried out by International Coalition forces increased dramatically during the third year (from September 2016 to September 2017), during which International Coalition forces appeared to be negligent in observing the principles of customary humanitarian law. During the fourth year, according to the report, following the end of the battle of Raqqa in October 2017, the frequency of attacks carried out by International Coalition forces decreased, with the extent of violations also being reduced accordingly. After that, the coalition’s military operations were concentrated on Deir Ez-Zour governorate and the southern suburbs of Hasaka, with the period between September 2018 and March 2019 seeing a significant retreat by ISIS’ elements in which only an area of a few square kilometers remains under their control.
 
The report documents the deaths of 3,035 civilians, including 924 children and 656 women (adult female) at the hands of international coalition forces since the start of their military intervention in Syria until March 2019. In addition, the report outlines a distribution of the death toll by year, as well as the distribution across governorates, with Raqqa seeing the highest number of deaths in this category, followed by Aleppo and Deir Ez-Zour governorates.
 
The report also documents 172 massacres perpetrated by International Coalition forces, and at least 172 attacks on vital civilian facilities, including 25 attacks on schools, 16 attacks on medical facilities, and four attacks on markets since the start of their military intervention in Syria until March 2019.
 
The report reveals that at least 560,000 inhabitants have been forcibly displaced by International Coalition forces’ attacks, with most of the displaced forced to stay in camps established by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, where they are detained, their identity papers confiscated and they are prevented from leaving.
 
The report also includes a comparison between the record of the most notable human rights violations committed by International Coalition Forces during the terms of US Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The attacks carried out by International Coalition forces during the term of President Obama killed at least 976 civilians, including 194 children, and 294 women (adult female), which is nearly 32 percent of the total death toll of victims killed by International Coalition forces to date, as well as perpetrating 32 massacres and 61 attacks on civilian objects. During the term of President Trump, meanwhile, these killings have escalated in an alarming manner. The death toll of victims killed during this period to date has reached at least 2,059 civilians, including 730 children and 362 women, which is nearly 68 percent of the total death toll of victims killed by International Coalition forces. In addition, the Coalition attacks began to take on a more systematic and chaotic character under President Trump’s administration, with SNHR documenting at least 140 massacres and at least 120 attacks on civilian objects, as well as documenting the use of incendiary munitions for the first time, with our team documenting at least five attacks carried out by International Coalition forces using incendiary munitions.
 
The report further notes that the International Coalition forces have acknowledged only 119 attacks which resulted in civilian deaths, including 31 attacks that resulted in massacres (categorized as any attack in which five or more victims were killed in the same place at the same time), a massive discrepancy of 141 massacres compared to the number documented by SNHR.
 
The report stresses that the incidents of indiscriminate and disproportionate bombardment carried out by International Coalition forces constitute explicit violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations of the rules of customary humanitarian law amounting to war crimes, including the targeting of civilians or civilian objects. In addition, these incidents of bombardment have resulted in collateral damages that involved civilian deaths, injuries, or significant damages to civilian objects. There are strong indicators that compel us to believe that the damage was massively excessive compared to any anticipated military advantage.
 
The report calls on the International Coalition command to support the team working on investigating and following up on these incidents with more manpower, to increase and dedicate more efforts and capabilities in this regard, to create a data map showing the areas worst affected by aerial attacks, and to make real progress towards starting to address the economic and moral ramifications resulting from those attacks.
The report stresses that the welcome military victory over ISIS should be built upon with further help for the Syrian people, calling on the International Coalition command to rid the remaining areas of the terrorist group’s effects, to seriously work on establishing a democratic community leadership which involves the residents of those areas, to work seriously on providing means of a decent life for the forcibly displaced in displacement camps, and to hold everyone who was convicted, through investigations, of being implicated in attacks that resulted in massacres against civilians, and discharge them.
Also, the report calls on the International Coalition command to assist the Syrian community in eliminating terrorist groups akin to ISIS, such as the terrorist groups supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran which have already started establishing bases in Aleppo and Damascus suburbs.
 
Lastly, the report calls on the OHCHR to address the issue of the forcibly-displaced in the SDF-held areas and to issue a report on the violations they are subjected to while also touching upon the consequences of the bombardment by International Coalition forces on those areas.
 

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SNHR asserted in its report released today that the United States must compensate the families of some 3,000 Syrian civilians who were killed by International Coalition forces before withdrawing its forces from the country.
The report, entitled ” Human Rights Implications of the Withdrawal of US Forces from Syria”, stresses that the US. forces cannot simply leave after four years of military intervention without first ensuring the satisfactory resolution of cases that are still pending, some of which occurred as a direct result of their military intervention.
 
The four-page report addresses six major issues which the United States must consider and resolve before its departure from Syria. Firstly, the report states, the US must compensate the families of civilians killed in bombardment by US forces, and fund the reconstruction of homes, other buildings and vital facilities destroyed in these bombings. The total number of civilians documented killed in attacks by International Coalition Forces between September 23, 2014 and January 5, 2019, stands at 2, 984, including 932 children and 646 women (adult female), including at least 168 massacres, in each of which five or more individuals killed in the same attack.
The report also documents at least 182 attacks on vital civilian facilities, including 25 schools and 16 medical facilities, noting that these figures do not include any facilities in which ISIS terrorist elements or equipment were based.
 
Although ISIS still controls approximately 2,150 square kilometers of territory in Syria, the report acknowledges the role of the International Coalition forces in undermining and depleting ISIS to a large extent. The report adds, however, that the continuing existence of ISIS and other terrorist organizations in Syria continues to place intolerable pressure on Syrian society, which desperately needs help to get rid of them.
 
The report further stresses the need to ensure that the fight against terrorism in the world should be united and indivisible, warning that any withdrawal by US forces without first establishing a strong democratic political structure in the areas of East Euphrates will leave vast areas of the region not only at risk of a reinvigorated ISIS, but more dangerously the expansion of Iranian militias who pose a far greater threat since they are explicitly supported by a state, namely Iran, which gives them far greater political power, influence and sustainability than ISIS, which lacks this state backing. It seems therefore, that Iran is set to be the biggest beneficiary of the withdrawal of US forces due to its multilayered infiltration and expansion in large areas of Syria.
 
The report also notes that US support for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) which is the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has not simply been limited to support in the military sphere, but has extended to handing over vast areas to this radical organization after driving out ISIS from these areas. The report notes that the United States has made little effort to support democratically elected local governance, through which locally elected political and economic bodies could ensure security, political and social stability in the region. On the contrary, these areas under YPG rule have not even seen the removal of rubble, or the rehabilitation of the most important vital facilities such as hospitals, schools and markets. Due to this political and economic failure, most of the people of these areas have not returned to their homes and instead remain displaced in tents or in countries of asylum.
 
The report asserts that the withdrawal of US military forces reflects an attitude of additional negligence and indifference to the Syrian issue, as well as giving free rein to Russian expansionism, through which Russia wants to force the imposition of its solution based on the establishment of a formal constitutional committee, and imaginary reforms.
 
Lastly, the report stresses that the withdrawal of US forces without securing a proper, safe place for the approximately 50,000 Syrians trapped in al Rukban Camp to go to will place them at lethal risk of arrest, torture and retaliation by Syrian Regime forces and Iranian militias.
 
The report calls on the United States of America to reassess the decision on the withdrawal of US forces, and to consider in particular its grave implications for the stability, security and rights of Syrian society in the areas currently supervised by these forces. The report further urges the US leadership to begin the process of compensating the victims’ families and reconstructing destroyed facilities, as well as funding their maintenance, adding this should be funded by committee composed of representatives from the countries of the International Coalition, rather than leaving this to certain countries, which means politicizing the process of compensation and reconstruction.
The report also underlines the importance of building a local genuinely democratic political system that enjoys local legitimacy and protection from coalition countries, urging the United States to contribute to leading the process of a genuine political transition in Syria based on the sequence of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, starting from a Transitional Governing Body before forming a constitutional committee and holding internationally sponsored elections; thus contributing to ending the Syrian disaster and the departure of US and all other foreign forces.
 

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The SNHR says today that it is necessary to take action to rescue some 6,000 civilians in Hajin district who have been subjected to indiscriminate and repeated bombardments by the Syrian Democratic forces and the International Coalition forces since September 11, 2018.
The eight-page report monitored the sharpening of clashes with ISIS since July, 2018, and the low frequency of the air attacks by the International Coalition forces against ISIS before the Syrian Democratic forces announced the resumption of military operations on September 11, 2018. The report refers that there was no serious desire to eliminate ISIS from the areas it controls in the far east of Syria, although this is possible and more easily than it was the case of the battle of Raqqa.
 
This report highlights the most prominent human rights violations committed by both the International Coalition forces and the Syrian Democratic forces in areas still under the control of ISIS in Deir Ez-Zour governorate, which the report called it “Hajin district” as a term between September 11, and December 20, 2018.
The report focuses on the dire humanitarian situation of thousands of civilians trapped between Syrian Democratic forces and Syrian Regime forces, as well as their suffering, as a result of ISIS tightening its security grip on them and using them as human shields.
 
The Syrian Democratic forces imposed a blockade on Hajin city, Abu al Hasan village, al Kashma village, al Sh’afa town, al Sousa town, al Baghouz village, which are under the control of ISIS. The report states that it carried out attacks using missile launchers and mortar shells, and set up snipers on the outskirts of villages and towns. Finally, the International Coalition forces supported Syrian Democratic forces on the ground, where hundreds of air strikes were launched.
The report monitors the use of artillery shells by the International Coalition forces stationed in the badia of Hajin city, noting that at least two attacks involving incendiary weapons in areas far from the frontlines and populated areas were carried out.
 
According to the report, at least 165 people, including 74 children, and 29 women (adult females) have been killed since September 11, 2018. As of December 20, 2018, the Syrian Democratic forces have killed 12 civilians, including 3 children, while International Coalition forces killed 153 civilians, including 71 children and 29 women.
The report records at least 13 massacres, all at the hands of the International Coalition forces, in addition to at least 13 incidents of assault against civilian vital centers, which were the international coalition forces responsible for 11 incidents, including two on medical facilities, while Syrian Democratic forces were responsible for two incidents.
 
The indiscriminate attacks and intensive bombardments coincided with an ongoing blockade imposed by Syrian democratic forces on the areas controlled by ISIS. The report notes that these forces have not been allowing commercial trucks to enter into Hajin district since September 11, which has led to a deterioration in the living conditions of thousands of people. And medical materials and supplies ran out. All medical centers were out of service after being targeted by International Coalition forces aviation.
The report points out that some civilians had to flee towards the areas of control of the Syrian Regime forces located on the opposite bank of the Euphrates River, despite all that this displacement carries the risk of being subjected to arrests and torture that may be carried out by Syrian Regime forces. The report says that these civilians were subjected to sniping actions and mortar and artillery shelling by the Syrian Regime forces on boats of civilians who were trying to flee towards their areas of control.
The report monitors the prevention of ISIS for people to leave their areas of control, referring to the attack carried out by ISIS on October 11, 2018, on badia of Hajin camp, which included IDPs from Hajin district, where they burned tents and returned hundreds of displaced persons to its areas of control.
The report stresses that Syrian Democratic forces did not seek to secure safe corridors for displaced persons fleeing the hell of military operations in a Hajin district. They also detained civilians who went to the Badia of Hajin camp, which was established by the Syrian Democratic Forces and imposed house arrest on them.
The report also points out that the Syrian Democratic forces prevented the civilians from leaving the camp until they verified their identity papers and interrogated many of them for fear of the existence of elements affiliated with ISIS. The report mentions extortion operations against the residents, where they were forced to pay large amounts of money to the Syrian Democratic forces that control the camp to allow them to leave.
The report stresses that the Coalition forces (the Syrian Democratic forces and the International Coalition forces) committed serious and multiple violations of international human rights and humanitarian law amounting to war crimes. The parties directed numerous attacks against civilian populations, including aerial and ground bombardment of populated areas. These forces didn’t send any warnings prior to the attacks as required by international humanitarian law.
 
According to the report, attacks by the Coalition forces incidentally caused civilian casualties, injury to civilians or serious damage to civilian objects. There are very strong indications of the belief that the damage was too excessive when compared to the desired military advantage.
According to the report, ISIS also committed widespread violations of international humanitarian law against the people in areas under its control, preventing them from leaving the areas under their control, in order to be protected by them and use them as human shields, which constitutes a war crime.
The report says that the Syrian Regime forces attacked civilians who tried to flee towards their areas of control. These attacks violate international humanitarian and human rights law and amount to war crimes.
 
The report calls on the International Coalition forces to respect international humanitarian law and customary international law, and therefore the countries of the international coalition bear responsibility for the violations that have occurred since the attacks began, and must bear the consequences of all these violations, and try their best to avoid recurrence. The report stresses the need for Syrian democratic forces to provide a safe passage for civilians fleeing the areas of control of ISIS, and to improve the situation of the camps under its supervision, and to allow displaced people freedom of movement, and to provide food and medical assistance, and for the SDF supporting countries to put pressure on them to stop all human rights violations.
The report recommends that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) find ways to deliver food, water and shelter to displaced people who have settled in several areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic forces.
 

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BY: Brett McGurk

SNHR has taken it upon itself to record the bombardment incidents that constituted violations of the customary international law since the first day of the US-led intervention, September 23, 2014, which aimed to eliminate the terrorist group ISIS, as SNHR has built a dedicated database for all incidents, which we were able to document, including all details such as place and date, names, and pictures and videos whenever possible, as well as accounts from people who survived the bombardment or eyewitnesses, and pictures of destruction among other data through ongoing monitoring and documentation.
 
The report, released by SNHR on the 4th anniversary of the beginning of the international coalition’s intervention in Syria, outlines the most notable attacks by international coalition forces since the start of the intervention in Syria and the violations that resulted from those attacks, including killing and forced displacement.

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The report notes that the past year saw a significant

change with respect to territories in east and northeast Syria, as ISIS’s areas of controls have largely diminished in light of the heavy airstrikes by international coalition forces, as well as the artillery and rocket shelling by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are primarily composed of the Kurdish Democratic Union forces with the backing of international coalition forces.
 
The report stresses that international coalition forces’ offensives resulted in violations of the international humanitarian law, which also reflected on the Syrian community in those areas, while shedding light on the implications that might result from the fact that an ethnicity-based force with foreign connections has control with regard to the stability and security of the Syrian community in the areas taken over by those forces in the wake of ISIS’s defeat.
 
The report adds that defeating ISIS involved violations that civilians bore the brunt of, as buildings, shops, and infrastructures were destroyed to an immeasurable extent, while tens of thousands of civilian residents have been displaced. Defeating ISIS will bear no actual significance as long as the essential aspects of this victory aren’t fulfilled by compensating those victims who must be returned to their houses and truly be involved in governing their areas.
 
Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, says:
“International coalition forces should end ISIS’s control over the areas in which they still have present, and work more seriously to assist the establishment of civil, democratic governance councils in the areas under their control, which makes up approximately one-third of the entire Syrian region. The first step towards achieving that is having the forcibly displaced return to their houses and redressing the losses they’ve caused.”
 
The report sheds light on the unlawful attacks carried out by international coalition forces in Syria between September 23, 2017, and September 23, 2018, in addition to analyzing the data that contains violations perpetrated by international coalition forces which were documented by SNHR between September 23, 2014, and September 23, 2018. The report draws upon a number of accounts, as two accounts were included in the report.
According to the report, the international coalition forces’ attacks during the first two years were more accurate and caused fewer civilian deaths, as they targeted mostly military facilities and armories belonging to ISIS compared to the last two years’ attacks which were more indiscriminate and saw a heavier use of artillery, as we monitored, where this weapon is known for having a lesser degree of accuracy. The report also records a limited use of white phosphorus munition in areas located far from frontlines.
 
Further, the report notes that the last two years saw a more explicit and growing support for the Kurdish Democratic Union forces despite them perpetrating wide patterns of violations, some of which constitute war crimes, particularly the crime of forced displacement which were perpetrated on basis of ethnicity. This support culminated during the battle for taking back Raqqa governorate.
 
The report documents that 2,832 civilians were killed at the hands of international coalition forces from the start of their military intervention in Syria until September 23, 2018, including 861 children and 617 women. In addition, the report outlines a distribution for the death till by year, as the third and fourth year saw the greatest portion of deaths. On the other hand, Raqqa saw the most deaths, followed by Aleppo and Deir Ez-Zour governorates.
According to the report, international coalition forces killed 976 civilians, including 194 children and 294 women, during President Barrack Obama’s term, while 1,856 civilians, including 667 children and 323 women, were killed during President Donald Trump’s term.
 
The report also documents 156 massacres perpetrated by international coalition forces, and no less than 170 attacks on vital civilian facilities, including 25 attacks on schools, 15 attacks on medical facilities, and four attacks on markets between the start of the military intervention in Syria and September 23, 2018.
 
Moreover, the report stresses that offensives in the governorates of Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zour, and Hasaka resulted in the displacement of no less than 550,000 people, an outcome for which both international coalition forces and SDF were responsible, as well as ISIS who used them as human shields.
 
The report records that 432 civilians, including 103 children and 131 women, were killed by international coalition forces between September 23, 2017, and September 23, 2018. In addition, international coalition forces were responsible for no less than 27 massacres in the same period of time, as well as 12 attacks on vital civilian facilities at least, including four attacks on medical facilities, two attacks on schools, and one attack on a market.
 
The report notes that international coalition forces acknowledged that 100 attacks resulted in civilian deaths, including 23 attacks that resulted in massacres (five victims killed in the same place at the same time), compared to the 156 massacres documented by SNHR’s report to a difference of 133 massacres.
 
The report stresses that the indiscriminate and disproportionate bombardments carried out by international coalition forces constitute explicit violations of the international humanitarian law. Also, the crimes of indiscriminate murder qualify as war crimes. In addition, the bombardments have resulted in collateral damages that involved civilian deaths, injuries, or significant damages to civilian objects. There are strong indicators that compel to believe that the damage was too excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage.
 
The report calls on the international coalition command to support the team working on investigating and following with incidents with more manpower, raise and dedicate more efforts and capabilities in this regard, draw out a data map showing the most affected areas from aerial attacks, and push towards starting to address the economic and moral ramifications resulting from those attacks.
The report stresses that the military victory over ISIS should be built upon. Also, the report calls on the international coalition command to rid the remaining areas of their effects, seriously work on establishing a democratic community leadership which involves the residents of those areas, work seriously on providing means of a decent life for the forcibly displaced in displacement camps, hold everyone who was convicted, through investigations, of being implicated in attacks that resulted in massacres against civilians and discharge them.
Also, the report calls on the International coalition command to assist the Syrian community in eliminating terrorist groups, akin to ISIS, such as the terrorist group supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran which have already started establishing bases in Aleppo and Damascus suburbs.
 
Lastly, the report calls on the OHCHR to address the issue of the forcibly-displaced in the SDF-held areas and issue a report on the violations they are experiencing while also touching upon the fallouts of the bombardment by international coalition forces on those areas.
 

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SNHR has noted in a report, “Ridding Raqqa of ISIS Costed Extraordinarily Too Much in Lives and Resources”, released today that no less than 2,371 civilians were killed, including 562 children, while nearly 500,000 were displaced in light of the battles that took place in Raqqa governorate within a year time.
 
The report notes that Raqqa governorate was clearly divided among the parties to the conflict, where certain areas went to certain parties, even if this wasn’t categorically announced, as international coalition forces and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) focused their attacks on the northern, western, and southern suburbs, as well as the city of Raqqa, while the Syrian-Russian alliance forces’ attacks were concentrated in the eastern suburbs – particularly in the villages that are located to the south of Euphrates River (Called Shamiya villages).
 
According to the report, the offensives carried out by the parties to the conflict over the course of 11 months have displaced approximately 450,000 people. International coalition forces were responsible for the displacement of two-thirds, while the attacks of the Syrian-Russian alliance resulted in displacing the remaining one-third.
 
The report draws primarily upon on the daily documentation and monitoring that SNHR team works on in a daily, ongoing, cumulative manner. Secondly, the report is based on accounts from survivors, eyewitnesses, and local media activists that we have talked to via phone or social media. We also analyzed a number of videos and pictures that were posted online, or were sent to us by local activists via e-mail, Skype, or social media.
 
The report records the violations of the first battles of Raqqa, November 6, 2016 – October 19, 2017, by the parties to the conflict, as 2,323 civilians were killed in these battles, including 543 children and 346 women (adult female), while 99 massacres at least were recorded. International coalition forces were responsible for the killing of 1,321 civilians, including 383 children and 247 women, and had perpetrated 87 massacres, while Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killed 309 civilians, including 51 children and 50 women, and were responsible for four massacres. ISIS, on the other hand, killed 639 civilians, including 109 children and 49 women, and was responsible for eight massacres.
 
In the same period of time, the report documents no less than 100 attacks on vital civilian facilities, including 81 at the hands of international coalition forces, while SDF were responsible for seven attacks, and ISIS was responsible for the remaining 12.
 
According to the report, no less than 1,896 individuals were arrested, including 28 children and 33 women in the same period of time. Out of those, 1,279 individuals were arrested by SDF, including 19 children and 22 women, while ISIS arrested 617 individuals, including nine children and 11 women.
 
Additionally, the report outlines the details of the second battle of Raqqa which was waged by Syrian-Russian alliance forces between July and October of 2017, as the Syrian-Russian alliance’s offensive enabled it to take over the majority of the areas in the eastern suburbs which are located to the south of Euphrates River. According to the report, Syrian-Russian alliance forces killed 48 civilians, including 19 children and eight women (adult female), and was responsible for no less than five massacres, while these forces carried out 11 attacks on vital civilian facilities in the same period of time.
 
The report stresses that the parties to the battle of Raqqa have perpetrated serious and various violations to the international human rights law and the international humanitarian law that constitute war crimes. The parties directed multiple attacks at civilian residents, including aerial bombardment and ground-to-ground shelling against populated areas. These forces didn’t alarm the residents prior to the attacks as it is required by the international humanitarian law.
 
The report adds that the attacks by the alliance forces (the international coalition and SDF) and the Syrian-Russian alliance have resulted in collateral damages that involved loss of lives, injuries, or heavy damages to civilian objectives. There are strong indicators suggesting that the damage was too excessive compared to the anticipated military benefit.
 
Further, the report notes that ISIS was responsible for a wide range of violations to the international humanitarian law against the residents in its areas of control through killing, arrest, and torture. We also recorded that ISIS barred residents from fleeing its areas of control in order to use them as human shields.
 
In addition, the report stresses that Syrian-Russian alliance forces should immediately cease carrying out indiscriminate attacks, and stop using ISIS as a pretext to bomb residential neighborhoods and vital civilian facilities.
 
In contrast, the report calls on the alliance forces (the international coalition and SDF) to unequivocally and truly acknowledge that some of the bombardment operations have resulted in the killing of innocent civilians. Denying so won’t do any good for these governments, as documented human rights reports and residents’ accounts explicitly expose this fact. Instead of denying, these states should take speedy steps to launch serious investigations, and immediately compensate and apologize to the victims and those who were affected.
 
The report calls on the SDF-supporting states should apply pressure on these forces in order to compel them to cease all of their violations in all the areas and towns that are under their control. Also, local council from the local community should be formed in order to establish a civil governance. Also, the report calls for ceasing all forms of support, weapons and otherwise, ceased until SDF commit to the previous recommendations. This is primarily the supporting states’ responsibility. Additionally, the report stresses that SDF should improve the living situation in the camps that are under their administration. And allow IDPs to move freely and secure food and medical aids.
 
Lastly, the report calls on the international relief organizations should find ways to secure food, water, and shelter for thousands of IDPs who are stranded on the banks of Euphrates River and the desert areas.
 

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SNHR has released its 13th report, entitled “The Bloody Price” on the third anniversary of the start of the international coalition forces’ intervention in Syria.
 
The report notes that international coalition forces commenced their military campaign against the terrorist group ISIS in Syria on September 23, 2014. On that day, several airstrikes were carried out on points in Raqqa governorate, such as al Tabaqa Military Airbase and al Lewa’ 93 in Ein Eissa town, while international coalition forces targeted also al Nussra Front in Kafr Daryan village, northern suburbs of Idlib governorate, in airstrikes that resulted in the killing of 12 civilians, including five children and five women.
 
The report adds that international coalition forces continued their airstrikes on ISIS-held areas, as attacks were concentrated in the governorates of Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zour, and Hasaka, in addition to Homs and Hama governorates to a less extent. international coalition forces never showed an open alignment with one of the parties to the conflict in their attacks. That is, until late-2015, where it was clear that international coalition forces were blatantly supporting Self-Management forces (primarily consisting of the Democratic Union Party – a branch for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party) under the pretext of fighting ISIS.
 
The report stresses that international coalition forces’ attacks were visibly concentrated in in eastern regions such as Raqqa, Hasaka suburbs, and Deir Ez-Zour, while areas such as Homs and Hama suburbs never saw such escalated airstrikes even though they were under the control of ISIS, because, apparently, are not considered a target and are void of any presence for Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
 
Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, adds:
“The presentation that was held by the United States Central Command in last June on the findings of the investigations regarding the attack incident in al Jina village wasn’t convincing in our eyes, or in anyone’s eyes for that matter, I believe. Serious investigations should be launched, and survivors, direct eyewitnesses, and victims’ relatives should be part of it. Confessing to these mistakes and affirming that such mistakes, which the Syrian people believe were deliberate, won’t happen again, as they are still occurring to this day.”
 
This report contains three accounts that were collected through speaking directly with eyewitnesses, and are not cited from any open sources. In addition, pictures and videos that were published online or sent to SNHR team via e-mail, Skype, or social media were analyzed. Also, some of the videos published by activists show the location of the attacks, the dead bodies, the injured, and the huge destruction in the aftermath of the bombardment.
 
The report sheds light on the toll of international coalition’s operations between September 23, 2014 and September 23, 2017, as no less than 2,286 civilians were killed, including 674 children and 504 women. Additionally, international coalition forces were responsible for 124 massacres at least, and no less than 157 incidents of attack on vital civilian facilities.
 
The report highlights that the pattern international coalition forces’ attacks follow has significantly changed since they started in September 2014. Until the end of 2015, international coalition forces’ attacks were directed, concentrated, and caused less civilian casualties, while the attacks we documented in 2016 and 2017 were indiscriminate and unjustified, and have resulted in the killing of hundreds of civilians, and great destruction to vital civilian facilities. The report sorts the attacks into three major phases, the third of which -from November 2016 to September 23, 2017- were the bloodiest, as the glaring disregard for the principles of the customary international law has become clear, and was reflected in the unjustified causalities numbers in that period of time, as international coalition forces had committed, in that period of time, tens of massacres and violations, and dropped accuracy in targeting ISIS military bases and areas.
 
The report sheds light on 38 incidents in which international coalition forces targeted civilian areas and vital civilian facilities between October 1, 2016, and September 15, 2017. Of those, 21 resulted in civilian deaths.
 
The report stresses that disproportionate, indiscriminate bombardment operations constitute an explicit violation of the international humanitarian law. Also, indiscriminate crimes of murder constitute war crimes. Additionally, the report notes that these attacks have caused collateral damages that involved loss of lives, injuries, and significant damages to civil facilities. There are strong indicators suggesting that the damage was too excessive compared to the anticipated military benefit.
 
The report calls on the international coalition forces to International coalition forces to respect the international humanitarian law and the customary international law. Furthermore, the coalition should address the ramifications of all of these violations, and try as much as possible to avoid such incidents in the future.
 
The report urges the states of the coalition to unequivocally and truly acknowledge that some of the bombardment operations have resulted in the killing of innocent civilians. Denying so won’t do any good for these government, as documented human rights reports and residents’ account blatantly expose this fact. Instead of denying, these states should take speedy steps to launch serious investigations, and to immediately compensate the victims and those who were affected.
 
Lastly, the report emphasizes that civilians have to be protected from the savagery of the Syrian regime and its extremist pro-regime militias. In parallel with protecting Syria’s civilians from the brutalities of ISIS, an air ban should be imposed on the warplanes that are dropping barrel bombs on a daily basis.
 

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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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Since the intervention of the US-led international coalition forces started on September 23, 2014, SNHR has been working on following-up and documenting the violations perpetrated by these forces. In this regard, SNHR has released 11 special reports that focused on the incidents where civilians were killed and vital civilian facilities were targeted.
These days mark 1000 days since the start of these operations. According to the periodic follow-ups and the daily and monthly incidents that we have recorded, we feel it is important to point out on the following main points:
 
First: Human losses are unacceptably high and reflects a glaring carelessness
The international coalition forces’ attack in 2014 and 2015 demonstrated a greater precision and were more focused in targeting ISIS’s military sites, and caused less civilian casualties. In contrast, the attacks that were carried out in 2016 and up until May 2017 were more indiscriminate and chaotic as we noticed.
 
International coalition forces killed 1256 civilians at least, including 383 children and 221 women (adult female), from the start of the intervention on September 23, 2014 until the beginning of May 2017. We have the details on most of those victims.
Interestingly enough, approximately 80% of the total number of victims that have been killed since the start of the intervention were killed between January 1, 2016 and the beginning of May 2017 with no less than 998 civilians, including 304 children and 178 women, killed.
Furthermore, a total of 51 massacres have been perpetrated by the international coalition forces since September 23, 2014 as of this writing. Of those 51 massacres, 34 were perpetrated in al Raqqa governorate alone, up to 67% of the total number of massacres, and 12 in Aleppo governorate.
 
Second: Severe material loses by bombing vital civilian facilities
International coalition forces were responsible for no less than 106 incidents of attack on vital civilian facilities, including 46 attacks on bridges which were the most targeted facilities. Most of these bridges were rendered out of service, which led to economic and social ramifications that affected the lives of the local residents. We don’t believe that these bridges were used regularly in the service of military operations. We have released a report in that regard entitled: “Deir Ez-Zour, a limb-severed governorate” which documents the bombing of bridges in Deir Ez-Zour alone by international coalition forces.
 

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