The Assad regime recently targeted a Syrian refugee camp for the first time, according to residents and activists in the area. Syrian army helicopters dropped several barrel bombs on one of the camps in southern Syria, killing at least 20 people and injuring 80 more, mostly women and children. Although these highly destructive crude explosive devises have been used on civilians throughout the conflict, this most recent attack has led to questions over not only the safety of the Syrian population but also of Syrian refugees.
In response to the massive influx of Syrian refugees, Jordan closed its borders last year after it announced that more than 600,000 U.N. registered refugees overburdened its infrastructure and domestic institutions. This forced many of these refugees to relocate to towns in Syria near the Jordanian border while waiting for access to Jordan.
The closed border has brought some nongovernmental organizations and relief agencies to consider building camps within Syrian territory. However, this recent attack demonstrates the malicious intent of the Syrian regime toward its own people. Many humanitarian organizations now fear for the safety of refugees trapped within Syria.
Over the past three years, the Syrian conflict has escalated into the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. About 2.5 million people have fled the country, over 150,000 people have been killed, and approximately 9 million people are in grave need of humanitarian assistance.
According to Heritage Foundation research, even after international talks, the Assad regime refused to allow unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for the millions of Syrians in need. The government has made its policy regarding the civilian population quite clear: There is no distinction between civilians and militants, and both are viable targets for the regime’s armed forces.
In fact, the Syrian regime has been specifically targeting civilians with missiles and rockets. Barrel bombs and air strikes have been widely used by the Assad regime as a weapon of war against civilians in Syria, targeting opposition-held towns, hospitals, and clinics around the country. Government forces have also specifically targeted health care facilities in the country.
These attacks have resulted in the death of over 460 health professionals over the past three years. A report by Physicians for Human Rights found that government forces had caused about 90 percent of the confirmed attacks on health care facilities since the start of the conflict in March 2011.
Attacks on medical personnel, facilities, and supplies during armed conflict violate the Geneva Conventions and are considered crimes against humanity when such civilian targeting is widespread and systematic. This systematic violence against health care providers and those they serve is especially shocking when one takes into account that Bashar Assad himself once worked in the health care profession as a certified eye doctor.
Lauren Aragon is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please click here.
