The New Year’s Eve and Day in Syria’s Idlib and Aleppo provinces were marred by a series of devastating attacks on civilians by the Assad regime and its allied forces. The onslaught resulted in casualties, injuries, and widespread destruction, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Yesterday, on the evening of December 31, 2023, regime forces launched a missile bombardment targeting residential neighborhoods in the city of Idlib. The initial toll reported four civilians, including two women and a girl, injured in the attacks. However, the toll later increased, with a total of eight civilians, including three women and two children, sustaining injuries. The indiscriminate nature of the attacks caused terror and death, leaving civilians, including women and children.
The impact of the attacks extended beyond human casualties, with reports indicating that regime forces and Russia targeted thirty schools throughout 2023 as part of a systematic strategy to undermine the educational process.
Furthermore, a residential building and the Al-Thawra Model School suffered damage due to the missile strikes. The Directorate of Education in Idlib was compelled to suspend classes in several places, including Idlib City, Sarmin, Nayrab, Taftanaz, Shilakh, Afis, and Marat Nasaan as a result of the regime’s indiscriminate bombardment against civilians, and also announced that work in public and private universities will be suspended today, January 1, 2024.
In addition to the attacks in Idlib yesterday, the City of Darat Izza and the village of Kabashin in western Aleppo also faced renewed rocket attacks by Iran-backed Assad regime forces this morning January 1, 2024. According to the Ministry of Health, three people, including two children, were killed, and several people were wounded including an infant, because of the attacks. The intensity of the ongoing attacks has hindered emergency responders from reaching the injured or those trapped under rubble, compounding the suffering of the affected communities.
The relentless targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure by the Assad regime and its allies represents a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights principles. The deliberate attacks on schools not only endanger the lives of students and educators but also undermine the fundamental right to education, perpetuating a cycle of suffering and deprivation for the region’s youth.
