World
Camps for displaced civilians deliberately bombed in Syria, investigation reveals
A shocking new report has revealed a disturbing pattern of deliberate and deadly bombings targeting internally displaced people (IDP) camps within war-torn Syria.
The study, led by the Syria Justice and Accountability Center, titled “Desperate for Safety, Targeted for Destruction: Intentional Attacks on IDP Camps in Syria,” uncovered evidence that Syrian and Russian armed forces repeatedly struck camps housing civilians despite their clear identification as non-combatant areas.
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The Syrian conflict has displaced over 13 million Syrians since 2011, with approximately seven million forcibly displaced within Syria itself.
IDPs are among the most vulnerable populations in conflict-affected regions, subject to routine rights violations and limited access to safety and security.
The report highlights the Syrian government and its allies, including Russia, as the perpetrators of these deliberate attacks on IDP camps between 2014 and 2022.
While some previous attacks had garnered media condemnation, this report provides evidence that these were not accidental or limited to military targets in proximity.
Rather, the deliberate targeting of IDP camps was a calculated strategy employed by the government and its allies, the report found.
The investigators meticulously reviewed over two million videos documenting the Syrian conflict stored in their database known as Bayanat. By cross-referencing this material with social media, media channels, and satellite imagery, the researchers verified the authenticity of the evidence and established a clear pattern of deliberate targeting.
“Several of these attacks were particularly devastating since they used Russian-supplied cluster munitions to target tented communities which were completely vulnerable to air or artillery strikes,” said the report’s lead author. “The victims of these attacks had already faced displacement, often multiple times, only to be attacked in their makeshift shelters and displaced once more.”
The report identified 17 incidents where IDP camps were targeted, with the Syrian government or its allies implicated in all but one of these attacks. Witnesses have reported that the targeted camps were subject to reconnaissance flights prior to the bombings, in-dicating the intentional nature of these attacks. Some camps, such as al-Naqir, were re-peatedly attacked on multiple occasions.
The report focused on specific incidents between 2014 and 2022 in areas including camps near the villages of al-Naqir and Abdeen, and camps near the outskirts of the village of Qah, in Kafr Jalis. In these cases, the report confirmed the prior knowledge of the Syrian forces and their allies regarding the civilian nature of these camps. The Syrian government and its allies disregarded this knowledge and proceeded with the strikes, causing immense harm and suffering to innocent civilians.
In one example, the report’s authors told how, in the early morning hours of October 29, 2014, warnings were heard via radio that observatories monitoring warplanes had spot-ted one of the helicopters flying over northwest Khan Shaykhun.
One witness told SJAC how the area, particularly around the IDP camp, was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by jet fighter jets and helicopters. The witness recalled the details of the incident, saying:
“The villagers took all precautionary measures and went to large pits they prepared in advance. We call them caves. But camp residents have no choice but to stay in their tents.”
“We saw the helicopter heading directly towards the camp, and we saw it flying over the camp and one of the barrel bombs falling on it. The barrel bomb landed on the outskirts of the camp. As usual, the helicopter returned to drop the second barrel, which landed exactly in the middle of the camp.”
“The residents of the camp screamed as the body parts and pieces of the barrel exploded, and all the tents that were torn apart by the force of the explosion flew and disappeared as if they had never been there, and fire trucks and civilian vehicles rushed to help the wounded, and bury the dead.”
The legal analysis provided in the report makes it clear that these deliberate attacks on civilian displacement camps constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. International humanitarian law prohibits targeting civilians and civilian objects, including camps for internally displaced people. Moreover, forcibly displacing civilians or causing unnecessary suffering are crimes under this framework.
The report said the Syrian government’s repeated attacks on IDP camps not only terrorize the most vulnerable segments of the population but also hinder the return and rehabilitation of displaced individuals.
In its recommendations, it said the international community must scrutinize its relationship with the Syrian government, as the regime continues to violate the principles of international humanitarian law with impunity.
At present, there are no legal avenues for survivors of these attacks to seek justice.
However, if the responsible individuals are found in countries that apply universal jurisdiction, they could be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes. Efforts to establish a hybrid court or grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over these crimes are vital for achieving accountability.
Last year, the United Nations issued a statement expressing deep concern over the indiscriminate attacks on densely populated IDP camps. It emphasized that such attacks are prohibited by international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes.
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