A/HRC/27/60 in army uniforms, speaking Chechnyan. They displayed no flags or insignia and did not state whether they belonged to ISIS or another armed group. Hreitan, Aleppo, a date prior to 14 February 2014 59. Several mass graves were found on the grounds of the Secondary Institute of Electricity, which also served as ISIS’s headquarters until it was forced out by antiGovernment armed groups on 14 February. The dead were adult men. It is not clear how they were killed. Further, it has not been possible to determine the length of time that the bodies had been buried or the approximate date of death. 60. Another mass grave, containing the bodies of nine fighters from anti-Government armed groups, was found at Al-Malah farms, near Hreitan. The bodies were dumped in a well on the property. 4. Findings Government forces 61. Government forces stationed around eastern Ghouta, namely elite units including the 4th Division, Republican Guard and 3rd Division, committed the war crime of attacking civilians on 14 and 18 of December 2013. The victims of the attacks were easy targets to the perpetrators who were positioned in checkpoints blocking all routes out of eastern Ghouta. The sequence of events around the efforts to negotiate the opening of roads demonstrates that the civilians attempting to leave the besieged area were the object of the attack. 62. The war crime of attacking civilians was committed by Government forces in the context of the offensive on Qalamoun (Rif Damascus) during March 2014. During the documented barrel bomb attacks on civilians in Hay Al-Qaa and Hawsh Arab, there was no military equipment or personnel near the victims’ homes at the time and place of the incident. 63. The war crime of attacking civilians was committed by Government forces throughout the military campaign on Aleppo city and Rif Aleppo. Between 18 January and 16 June, 23 documented instances of aerial bombardment amounted to the war crime of attacking civilians. In addition to reckless disregard to the possibility that the barrel bombs would hit, kill and maim civilians, the collected information shows that the Syrian armed forces attacked civilians, men and women, children and elderly in particular while engaged in typical civilian activities. In all the incidents documented, the information reveals that civilians or civilian objects were directly targeted, resulting in substantial civilian casualties and that the fire was not aimed at any possibly military target. Where military targets were present, they were located at a substantial distance or confined to an easily identifiable position. 64. In most incidents, multiple barrel bombs were dropped consecutively, ensuring maximum damage to their targets. Several attacks demonstrated that the Syrian air forces deliberately targeted civilian rescuers who rushed to help the victims of the first strikes. Such follow-up attacks clearly indicate that civilians were the object of the bombardments. The documented attacks constitute examples of a campaign of attacks against civilians in Aleppo. The gravity of the attacks, established by their scale, pattern and virtually continuous repetition over a six-month period indicates that the war crimes of attacking civilians were committed as part of a plan or policy. The attacks amounted to area bombardment and constituted a large-scale attack on the civilian population of non-State armed group-controlled districts of Aleppo city and Rif Aleppo. 65. The war crime of attacking civilians was committed by Government forces in Dara’a governorate in the course of its aerial bombardment campaign in incidents occurring 40