As the world has been holding its breath since October 7, closely monitoring the conflict between Hamas and Israel, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been quietly conducting a major military offensive against rebel-held areas in north-western Syria.
Since October 5, following a drone attack on a military academy in Homs that reportedly claimed the lives of at least 120 people, Syrian and Russian forces have been relentlessly targeting rebel forces, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
At the time, the Syrian Ministry of Defense attributed the attack to “terrorist organizations”, emphasizing that Syria would respond “with all necessary force and determination.” Since then, the Idlib region, mostly controlled by the jihadist group Hayaat Tahrir al-Sham, has been heavily bombarded by Syrian forces.
During the UN session on October 24, the Director of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro, raised an urgent concern and stated that “we are witnessing the most significant escalation of hostilities in Syria in four years,” regretting that “civilian lives are once again completely disregarded, often in acts of retaliation.”
This escalation could continue without effective intervention from the international community, which is focused on the war between Israel and Hamas. On October 12, a military source, as reported by the official SANA agency, stressed that the Syrian army would “continue to pursue and strike” extremists “until the country is cleansed.”
According to Syrian opposition leaders, President Bashar al-Assad, with the support of Russia, is taking advantage of the situation in Gaza to escalate attacks on regions that reject his authority.
Human Rights Watch reported on October 6 that the Syrian army used cluster bombs in the town of Temarin, located north of Idlib, killing two civilians and wounding nine others. Cluster bombs are prohibited under the 2008 Convention, which has been ratified by 112 countries and signed by 12 others. However, neither Syria nor Russia are part of it. The United Nations has documented that Syrian army attacks have caused damage to 23 health centers and 17 schools.
Adam Coogle, Deputy Director of the Middle East division at Human Rights Watch, strongly condemned the Syrian government forces’ use of cluster bombs in their attacks on areas held by the opposition. He pointed out that these weapons have tragic and indiscriminate effects, resulting in devastating long-term consequences. Coogle emphasized that due to the ongoing bombardment by Syrian and Russian forces, the children of Idlib are once more enduring the brunt of cruel and illegal military actions.
