Russia has entered the Syrian conflict following the "invitation" of the Assad regime, and violated fundamental human rights in Idlib, as it has in many other parts of Syria, while the whole world was watching. In violation of international law, residential areas have been targeted, and civilians have been massacred and maimed because of attacks. The international system has not yet questioned and held Russia accountable for these actions.
This report seeks to analyze the attacks conducted by Russia, which became militarily involved in 2015 in support of Bashar al-Assad, along with regime forces, particularly in Idlib region, which violated international law and resulted in the death or injury of thousands of civilians. In this context, the report asserts that Russia and Assad regime forces have conducted attacks in Idlib without discrimination against civilians and have forced people to migrate by exerting pressure on the people in the region; these attacks constitute a violation of international law. The report intends to draw attention to the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Idlib and the humanitarian situation in the region based on field observations and current data.
From 2015, when Russia entered the conflict, until 2022, air raids and ground strikes on the opposition controlled Idlib region were examined in this context. The results of field visits, interviews with field officials, eyewitness accounts, reports from international non-governmental organizations, video footage and photographs of the attacks were utilized in the examination of the attacks.
When analyzing the Russian airstrikes in Syria, it is evident that Russian warplanes target civilians, infrastructure, and civilian settlements without discrimination. Russian forces targeted civilians and all civilian infrastructure with little or no military equivalent, according to an analysis of data gathered on the ground, particularly visual sources, and witness accounts. The attacks analyzed and data presented in this report do not include all attacks allegedly carried out by Russian warplanes, but rather "symbolic" attacks for which visual and written content is available and verifiable. The attacks documented in the report increase the likelihood that Russia, which is blamed for these attacks, is also responsible for other attacks. The report intends to contribute to future reporting, advocacy, research, and analysis efforts.
