The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

In the first anniversary of the chemical massacre in Khan Shaykhun, the warplanes increase its airstrikes targeting the south and west of Idlib province

The SOHR monitored since the morning of Wednesday the 4th of April 2018 warplanes carrying out consecutive airstrikes targeting areas in the countryside of Idlib, in conjunction with the first anniversary of the back Tuesday massacre in Khan Shaykhon, in which tens of civilians were killed, as result of targeting the city located in the southern countryside of Idlib by chemical substances, which caused suffocation, accompanied by heavy respiratory secretions, myosis, general paleness and spasm, and other symptoms appeared on the injuries. The SOHR monitored airstrikes targeting villages and towns and cities of Marj Al-Zuhor, Al-Ghasaniya and its vicinity, Al-Taybat, Al-Kastan, Ishtebraq, Haloz, Jisr Al-Shoughor city, in the western part of Idlib countryside, and the vicinity of Abdeen, Al-Bara, Kansafra, Hazareen, Ariha, Rakaiya, in the southern part of Idlib countryside. The airstrikes injured about 20 citizens including a child and 6 women, and most of the inured people are in Ariha city, where some of them are in serious conditions. The bombardment also caused material damage to the properties of the citizens.

The SOHR published in the past 24 hours a report about the causalities resulted from the chemical airstrikes that targeted Khan Shaykhon and the causalities in a year resulted from the regime forces and the Russian aerial shelling on the Syrian territory, where the report mentioned that a whole year has passed, forgotten causalities, and international community remains silent and shows its strength on the media without serious action. This massacre was carried out on the Black Tuesday the 4th of April 2017. Those who survived the massacre witnessed a new massacre by the warplanes that targeted Khan Shaykhon city located in the southern part of Idlib countryside leaving tens of people injured and killed. The SOHR documented the death of 88 citizens including 31 children under the age of eighteen and 21 citizen women, in addition to the injury of tens others, and medical sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights then, that one of the neighborhoods in Khan Shaykhun city was shelled by substances believed to be caused by using gases, which caused suffocation, accompanied by heavy respiratory secretions, myosis, general paleness and spasm, and other symptoms appeared on the injuries.

The massacre was carried out without holding any one accountable by the international community, which only had enough with the American airstrikes on Al-Shua’yrat airport and positions of the regime forces in this area. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented in a whole year since the chemical massacre in Khan Shaykhan and until today the martyrdom of thousands of civilians by the regime of Bashar al-Assad – the criminal who carried out the chemical massacre of Khan Shaykhon, with the help of his allies, the Russians. These casualties were killed by all kinds of weapons. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 4729 Syrian civilians, including 1206 children below the age of eighteen, and 764 women citizens over the age of eighteen. The martyrs were distributed as follows:

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 2607 civilians. They are 622 children below the age of eighteen, 386 women citizens over the age of eighteen and 1599 men and boys who were killed by shelling of the Russian warplanes in most of the Syrian areas in the Syrian province, which have been witnessing shelling throughout this whole year. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also documented the death of 2122 civilians. The casualties are 584 children below the age of eighteen, 378 women citizens over the age of eighteen and 1160 men. The aerial bombardment of warplanes and helicopter of the regime and Russia also injured thousands of civilians, some of whom were seriously injured and permanently disabled as result of amputation or deformation. The bombardment also caused the destruction of large numbers of the citizens’ property, infrastructure and public facilities.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights calls on the international parties and the UNSC to move to stop the bloodshed of the Syrian people, a year after the documented massacre of black Tuesday took place in Khan Shaykhon, which claimed the lives of 88 citizens including 52 children and women, which were also followed by consecutive targeting against the Syrian people, leaving thousands of people killed and injured. The Syrian Observatory also calls for an impartial investigation by an an independent international commission of inquiry into the massacre of Khan Shaykhon that took place on the 4th of April 2017, and that all war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court or competent international courts, so the criminals receive punishment they deserve for what they have committed against the Syrian people. We also call upon the international community to help the Syrian people to reach a state of democracy, justice, freedom and equality that guarantees all the rights of its components without any interference by any party or international body in the decision of the Syrian people, or dictating terms or conditions on them.