A/HRC/37/72 B. Dayr al-Zawr 50. As in Raqqah, successful military operations to recapture Dayr al-Zawr from ISIL militants were marked by concerted aerial attacks, carried out primarily by pro-Government forces, which in effect served to compound the suffering of thousands of civilians who had been living under ISIL for over three years. ISIL militants encircled Government-held neighbourhoods in Dayr al-Zawr city in June 2014 and denied all commercial and humanitarian access to the besieged population. On 22 August, pro-Government forces officially launched an offensive to recapture Dayr al-Zawr and broke the three-year ISILlaid siege on parts of Dayr al-Zawr city on 5 September.13 51. After two months of clashes, the Syrian Ministry of Defence announced that Government forces had gained full control of the city. On 6 December 2017, Syrian State television proclaimed that Dayr al-Zawr governorate had been liberated from ISIL. That was echoed by the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces on the same day, who also announced that the Russian forces had taken over Dayr al-Zawr city on 3 November. Despite those pronouncements, pro-Government aerial operations against remaining ISIL targets appeared ongoing, particularly in certain swathes of desert terrain. 52. Civilians who were able to flee Dayr al-Zawr recalled the level of destruction they had witnessed; the majority consistently described how some 80 per cent of the city had been severely damaged due to airstrikes. 14 Numerous witnesses reported that proGovernment forces made no distinction about military objectives and that hundreds of civilians in residential areas had perished in airstrikes. 53. Prior to September 2017, ISIL militants actively prevented civilians from leaving Dayr al-Zawr by employing street patrols, who operated mostly in the evening. Any civilian attempting to leave Dayr al-Zawr was apprehended and taken to the nearest hisbah (ISIL police) station, where he or she was either made to pay a fine for disobedience or corporally punished by whipping. After September, when aerial attacks markedly intensified and ISIL began losing control over the population, the ensuing chaos rendered hisbah street patrols unfeasible and ISIL resorted to the use of checkpoints. As in Raqqah, ISIL deliberately placed civilians in harm’s way in order to render areas immune from attack, which amounts to the war crime of using human shields. 54. Unable to cope with the scale of the offensive against them, in September 2017, ISIL began a campaign to forcibly conscript new recruits, by issuing a decree ordering the conscription of all men between the ages of 20 and 30. To implement the decree, checkpoints were established in both the city and countryside. Buses and taxis were stopped and searched, and male passengers were made to attend religious repentance (istitabah) lessons, followed by military training. After a few months, the men were sent directly to the frontlines. 55. By September, as ISIL lost control of the population, tens of thousands of civilians headed north towards Kurdish-held areas (see annex III). Hundreds of others, however, attempted to cross the Euphrates River on ferries previously used to transport cargo, vehicles and cattle. On 11 and 12 September, pro-Government forces attacked ferries crossing the Euphrates at Kharita. On 11 September, at approximately 10.30 a.m., between 40 and 50 individuals were on board the Kharita ferry when pro-Government forces launched an aerial strike against it. 30 civilians were killed, many having drowned. Witnesses maintained that there were no ISIL militants aboard the ferry. 56. Similarly, on 9 and 10 September, at Al-Bouleel crossing point, pro-Government forces launched aerial attacks against ferries set to depart on the Euphrates. On 9 September, at approximately 11 a.m., an aerial attack hit the Shamia al-Jazeera crossing point where civilians attempting to flee were waiting. At least 32 civilians were killed in the 13 14 12 See, for example, A/HRC/31/68, paras. 127–129 for siege of Dayr al-Zawr by ISIL. UNITAR, UNOSAT, “Syria: Deir Ez Zor, Deir Ez Zor governorate, Imagery analysis done 9 November 2017, published 21 November 2017, available at http://unosat-maps.web.cern.ch/unosatmaps/SY/CE20130604SYR/UNOSAT_A3_Deir_Ez_Zor_Damage_Points_20171109_Optimized.pdf.