A/HRC/22/59 which the Government forces failed to take feasible precautions to avoid or minimise the incidental loss of life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. Harak 41. The shelling of Harak began in July and continued into January 2013. Government armed forces took control of key strategic checkpoints within Harak on 25 August, and since then, have continued shelling areas of the town that remain under the control of antiGovernment armed groups. Recorded accounts indicate that the systematic and protracted shelling of Harak is at the very least indiscriminate and appears to be targeted at primarily if not entirely residential neighbourhoods. Those carrying out the shelling exhibit a disregard for the loss of civilian life. Tafas 42. Multiple accounts have been collected of the shelling of Tafas, which was followed by ground operations carried out by various Government security forces and affiliated militia. The intensity of the shelling was noted by each interviewee, with estimates that between 260–350 munitions were fired at the town for days at a time. The shelling intensified around mid-November and continued into December. The shelling caused the deaths and injuries of hundreds of civilians in Tafas as many civilian targets were repeatedly hit. On 19 December, two shells hit a crowded marketplace in Tafas, killing at least 10 civilians, among them young children. Thirteen civilians were killed and more than 80 injured from shelling and shrapnel on 25 December. 43. The firing of 260–350 munitions into populated areas is a method of warfare that is indicative of a failure to take all feasible precautions with a view to avoiding or minimizing the incidental loss of life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. Tafas was shelled for a protracted period, during which civilian targets suffered indiscriminate fire, in violation of international humanitarian law. Villages of Al-Karak, Umsifra, Um Walad, Lajjah and Kherbet Ghazallah 44. The villages of Al-Karak, Umsifra and Um Walad, located south and southwest of Al-Thaala military airport, controlled by the 24th Air Force Division and Battalion 1023, have been subjected to sustained shelling for a considerable period of the conflict. The villages were shelled by mortar, tank fire and from helicopter gunships. A defector from the Air Force described how he was given orders by [name withheld] to shell the villages if he heard any gun fire, making no distinction between civilians and military targets. The interviewee stated, “We bombarded and shelled to chase the FSA out of the village, because if they stayed they could attack us. The Commander, [name withheld] wanted to protect the base regardless of method, that is why his orders were to shell heavily.” 45. The information collected, including the above first-hand account, indicates that Government forces are conducting hostilities in violation of the principles of the law of armed conflict, making no distinction between civilians and fighters, conducting area bombardment, and taking no precautions in the choice of means and methods of warfare. 46. There are corroborated accounts that the village of Lajjah has been used by the FSA as a base. FSA fighters and defectors had sought shelter in the Lajjah area due to its rugged terrain. The village itself and surrounding towns such as Izra, have been indiscriminately bombarded with “barrel bombs” from fighter jets and subjected to intense shelling, as a result of which the villages are almost completely destroyed. The FSA has located military objectives within densely populated civilian areas, violating the principle of distinction under international humanitarian law. 94 GE.13-10627