A/HRC/22/59 47. The village of Kherbet Ghazallah, which is located along the Damascus – Dara’a highway, was heavily shelled on 5 August, after an FSA unit attempted to capture and ultimately killed the Chief of Political Security in Dara’a while he was travelling along the highway. This incident provoked Government forces to shell the village, killing civilians, among them women and children. One interviewee described how schools in Kherbet Ghazallah were targeted. Another interviewee, who was an FSA fighter in the Kherbet Ghazallah area, relayed that when an intermediary well-respected by both Government forces and anti-Government armed groups, attempted to diffuse the conflict, he was told by Government forces to pass on the message that “for each bullet the FSA fires on the [Damascus – Dara’a] highway, we will fire ten artillery shells into the town.” Other villages in the area, such as Western Garyiah, were also subject to heavy and indiscriminate mortar shelling. C. Damascus governorate 48. Twenty-two interviews conducted paint a picture of entire neighbourhoods of suburban Damascus being shelled and destroyed by Government forces as part of their urban warfare against elements from anti-Government armed groups. Between late July and November, the neighbourhoods of Dahadeel, Al-Midan, Sayyidah Zaynab, and AlTadamon were heavily shelled and subject to aerial bombardment from helicopters. These attacks were often followed by ground offenses and by further large scale destruction (see A/HRC/22/59, annex XIII). During the ground offensives, snipers were positioned at strategic locations, such as on top of buildings and at the entrance to main roads, to control movement. According to interviewee accounts, many civilians were killed by sniper fire. 49. In late August, a ten-day Government offensive on Al-Tal against the FSA resulted in high casualties among anti-Government armed groups operating in the area. Witnesses to the attack, which was carried out through heavy mortar shelling and firing from helicopters, described how Government forces deliberately attacked civilian objects, including bakeries, make-shift hospitals, commercial areas and infrastructure, motivated by a fear that the FSA would use them. Interviewees noted that during the offensive, most civilian casualties were caused by sniper fire. 50. An interviewee who defected from the brigade that operated from the military base at Al-Mazzah Airport, described how in their planning of hostilities, namely airstrikes in Duma, Arbin and Daraya, the commanders within the armed forces were aware of the presence of civilians in areas under attack, but did not take any precautions to avoid the incidental loss of civilian life. The interviewee also described how civilians in areas where the FSA operated, were considered by Government forces to be cooperating with the FSA and thus targetable. The interviewee said that the commander of the brigade, [name withheld] ordered: “there are some terrorist groups in the area, go and bomb them.” 51. A defector from a Special Forces branch of the infantry that operated in Damascus governorate, relayed accounts of how the Major that led their division, [name withheld], considered all areas in which the FSA and other anti-Government armed groups operated to be “areas supportive of terrorists.” These areas were surrounded by Government forces. Orders were given to shell these areas to force the terrorists out. 52. In attacking Zabadani, the abovementioned Major allegedly gave orders to “destroy the town.” In the planning and execution of military operations, the presence of a civilian population was not considered and no estimates were made as to collateral damage. The interviewee said that the operations were guided by the view that if civilians “happened to be” in the areas where the FSA or other anti-Government armed groups are operating, they were supporting the FSA and thus legitimate targets. GE.13-10627 95