The United Nations on Tuesday expressed «grave concern» over recent shelling and artillery attacks on IDP camps in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, which left at least seven civilians dead and nearly 30 wounded.
Jeremy Laurence, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has indicated that there are «worrying signs of a new upsurge in hostilities» in this part of the country and has indicated that among the dead there are four children.
«The upsurge in fighting and return to violence is cause for alarm. As in previous escalations, it is civilians who are paying an unacceptable price in terms of loss of life, reduced access to basic services, destruction of essential infrastructure and exposure to further displacement,» he denounced. He stressed that this situation «is exacerbated by harsh weather conditions, the poor humanitarian and economic situation and an outbreak of cholera in the area».
The fighting since October, involving several parties, including the jihadist coalition Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and armed groups affiliated with Turkey, has sparked alarms about a possible expansion of hostilities, including towards the city of Idlib, capital of the province.
The UN has highlighted that these concerns «materialized» on November 6, when pro-government forces carried out attacks on several areas in the province, including a number of displaced persons camps. Among the facilities affected was the Maram camp, which has a large displaced population.
The attacks have resulted in the displacement of 400 families, and Laurence has maintained that «it is essential that the parties to the conflict strictly comply with their obligations under humanitarian law to avoid targeting civilians and civilian objects during hostilities».
«They must take all possible precautions to avoid, or at least minimize, loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects,» said the agency spokesman, who stressed that this issue «is non-negotiable».
Laurence emphasized that «the fact that several densely populated displacement camps were hit during attacks that appear to have been carried out without regard to their lethal impact on civilians is a matter of grave concern».
«We stress to all parties to the conflict that indiscriminate attacks are prohibited under humanitarian law and, depending on the circumstances, could amount to war crimes,» the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded.
Idlib province and parts of Aleppo and Hama provinces are in the hands of several armed groups, the most important of which is HTS. The Syrian government, backed by Moscow, has defended that the offensive is part of its fight against terrorism in the country.
