A/HRC/28/69 and later died. Bodies remained in the cells for hours, sometimes overnight, before being removed by the guards. 42. A female detainee held in branch 235 between April and August 2014 witnessed male inmates being tortured. She also saw emaciated men being returned to their cells from interrogations. During her detention, she saw four bodies being removed from the cells. 43. A women’s husband and three sons were arrested by Government forces in town in Rif Damascus in December 2013. She made attempts to locate them through official channels but received no response. Their whereabouts were unknown until former detainees informed her that they were being held in branch 235. Several months later, the Military Police in her town informed her that her husband had died in custody. They were directed to the Al-Qaboun Military Police in Damascus where they received her husband’s ID card and a death certificate from Tishreen Military Hospital, stating her husband had died of a heart attack. In the months that followed, she received the IDs and deaths certificates for two of sons from Al-Qaboun Military Police. The death certificates were stamped as originating from Tishreen Military Hospital. She was not permitted to receive the bodies and was not informed of the place of burial. Despite continuing efforts, she does not know the whereabouts of her remaining son. 44. There were multiple accounts of detainees dying in Sednaya prison (Rif Damascus) in 2014. One detainee, released during this reporting period, witnessed the deaths of two cellmates in February and March 2014 respectively. Both detainees died following severe beatings with metal bars and cables by prison guards inside the cell. The corpses of the deceased remained in the cell for several hours before being removed by the guards. Another detainee held in Sednaya and released in July 2014, described a cellmate dying after being left on the ground bleeding after a beating by prison guards. The same detainee saw several detainees pass away between March and June 2014 after being extremely ill, with severe diarrhoea. Another detainee, also detained in Sednaya during this time, described the death of several other detainees in similar circumstances. 45. In many instances, families who were informed of the deaths of their relatives never discovered where they had been held. In late 2013, intelligence officers detained several students at a university in Damascus. In the case of one student, the family attempted unsuccessfully to locate him. In October 2014, officers at branch 235 told the father to go to Tishreen Military Hospital, where he received his son’s identification card and death certificate. 46. The practice of producing official death certificates appears to be growing, but is not consistent. It is apparent that the certificates are issued in order to misrepresent the causes of death and conceal detainee abuse. Many families simply do not know what has happened to their relatives after their initial arrest by Government forces or abduction by proGovernment militia. Such incidents amount to enforced disappearances. Deaths by sniping, shelling and bombardments 47. Civilians have been deliberately targeted and killed by Government forces during military attacks. Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks by Government forces have also contributed significantly to civilian casualties. 48. Government snipers, reported to be based near Al-Watani hospital, killed several civilians in the Tariq Al-Sad neighbourhood of Dara’a city (Dara’a) between June and September 2014. 49. Civilian deaths continue to be recorded as a result of the Government’s aerial bombardment campaign on anti-Government armed-group-controlled areas of Aleppo city as well in towns in Rif Damascus and Dara’a governorates. In the eastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo city, notably Al-Sukkari, civilians were killed when barrel bombs were dropped 32