A/HRC/44/61 situations, including in the Atma and Batabo camps in Idlib. At Batabo camp, close to Atarib, residents reported that the camp was often flooded and lacking basic services, such as hygiene facilities and a sewage system. 69. This was all concurrent with the emergence of COVID-19 around the world and in the Syrian Arab Republic, raising serious challenges for the already depleted and overstretched health-care system in Idlib and western Aleppo. F. Findings 70. As documented in numerous instances by the Commission, the civilian population in Idlib has over the past years been subjected to indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas and schools, and deliberate attacks on protected objects, such as hospitals, killing and injuring thousands of civilians in acts amounting to war crimes.40 71. With regard to the findings from the current reporting period, the Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that pro-Government forces committed the war crimes of deliberately attacking medical personnel and facilities by conducting air strikes and that, on one occasion, Government forces committed the same crimes by launching a ground-toground rocket attack (see paras. 36–47). The consistent repeated attacks on medical facilities suggest that pro-Government forces continued their policy to target hospitals, as part of the warring strategy.41 72. Concerning the attacks with cluster munitions on densely populated civilian areas, which struck the Khaled Shaar, al-Barahim and al-Izza Ibn Abdelsalam schools in Idlib city (see paras. 36–47), the Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that Government forces committed the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in death or injury to civilians,42 which may also amount to a direct attack against civilians.43 73. In relation to the six attacks on markets detailed above (paras. 20–32), the Commission assesses that each location was civilian in nature and by all witness accounts without nearby military objectives. In addition, each location was located in areas away from active fighting at the time of the attacks, and was struck by air strikes during the day, when civilians were likely to be present. Consequently, the Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that in each incident, pro-Government forces did not direct the attacks at a specific military objective, amounting to the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in death or injury to civilians. 74. For each incident discussed above (paras. 20–58), the Commission sought but did not receive information suggesting that a military objective had been located near the affected areas at the time of the investigated attacks.44 The Commission was unable to confirm the presence of armed actors or other legitimate military objectives in the areas specifically affected, except in the case of the described attacks on Kafr Nouran (see paras. 33–35), and 40 41 42 43 44 A/HRC/37/72, paras. 72–79; A/HRC/39/65, paras. 63–64; A/HRC/40/70, paras. 24–29; A/HRC/42/51, paras. 44–52; and A/HRC/43/57, paras. 18–29. A/HRC/28/69, annex II, paras. 2–8; A/HRC/30/48, paras. 34–35; A/HRC/31/68, para. 77; and A/HRC/43/57, paras. 22–23, and annex II, paras. 1–8. The use of cluster munitions in densely populated areas is inherently indiscriminate (given the typically wide dispersal pattern and high dud rate) and therefore prohibited by customary international humanitarian law. See Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, Customary International Humanitarian Law: Volume I – Rules (Geneva, International Committee of the Red Cross), rules 1, 7, 11, 12, 14 and 71; and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Dublin, 30 May 2008, art. 2. International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Prosecutor v. Galić, Case No. IT-98-29-T, 5 December 2003, paras. 19 and 57; and Customary International Humanitarian Law, rules 1 and 156. See also International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Prosecutor v. Martić, Decision, Case No. IT-95-11-I, paras. 23–31. Notes verbales were sent to the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic on 29 April and also on 5 June 2020. 13