I. Executive Summary:
In April, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) recorded at least 23 attacks on vital facilities, distributed according to the perpetrator party as follows:
A. Government forces: 21
B. Parties that SNHR was unable to identify: Two
The most notable vital facilities targeted in January:
Nine places of worship, five schools, one institute, one nursery, three medical facilities, four markets, and one of power stations and energy sources.
If the Security Council is unable to compel the parties to the conflict to implement its resolution 2139 of February 22, 2014, which provides for putting an end to “the indiscriminate use of weapons in populated areas, including artillery and aerial bombardments, such as the use of barrel bombs”, that the Security Council should at the very least exert minimal pressure on government forces mainly to stop them targeting vital community centers, such as schools, hospitals, markets, bakeries, and religious places.
In this report, the SNHR sheds light on the attacks on vital facilities that the network was able to document during April 2014. We emphasize that the attacks documented account for the bare minimum of attacks actually carried out due to the many practical obstacles we encountered during the documentation process.
As a result of its investigations, SNHR confirms that there were no military headquarters in the facilities included in this report, either before or during the attack. Government forces and other perpetrators must justify their attacks to the United Nations and the Security Council.