A/HRC/44/61 A. Attacks impacting civilians in Idlib 20. Starting from early December, pro-Government forces began advancing towards Ma’arrat al-Nu’man on the M5 highway, known as one of the first locations where peaceful protests started in 2011.20 Owing to its location, parties have fought for control of Ma’arrat al-Nu’man since the early days of the conflict. 21. In their efforts to regain control of the area, pro-Government forces carried out attacks consistent with clear patterns previously documented by the Commission, affecting markets 21 and medical facilities.22 Overflight data document at least 433 air strikes between 1 December 2019 and 1 February 2020 on and near Ma’arrat al-Nu’man. 22. Consistent with overflight data, residents reported that aerial bombardment, which reportedly included the use of barrel bombs, increased in mid-December. Attacks reached a peak on 18 and 19 December when 36 air strikes were recorded near Ma’arrat al-Nu’man, Jarjanaz and Kafr Nbul. In response to the influx of fleeing civilians, local humanitarian actors facilitated transportation and subsequent evacuation of those otherwise unable to leave, including children, elderly women and persons with disabilities. Civilians mostly used the M5 highway to escape, often with their vehicle lights off to avoid being targeted. Interviewees recalled that, as aerial attacks on the M5 intensified towards the end of December, many were compelled to flee via parallel routes instead, often on foot, with only as many personal belongings as they could carry. 23. According to information provided by the Humanitarian Needs Assessment Programme for the Syrian Arab Republic, by the end of December over 100,000 civilians had left the town of Ma’arrat al-Nu’man and the surrounding area, with interviewees reporting that residential areas had been largely destroyed, basic services were virtually nonexistent and attacks affecting escaping civilians had become commonplace. To illustrate, in the late evening of 21 December 2019, two air strikes hit a residential area in northern Ma’arrat al-Nu’man, injuring six civilians who were gathering their belongings to leave. On 22 December, at around 12.20 p.m., while a local organization was preparing to evacuate residents from an assembly point nearby, pro-Government forces carried out one precise air strike with a guided munition on the M5 that struck a slow-moving tractor that was carrying three men who were heading northward. The attack killed a father and his two sons. Later that evening, at 10 p.m., an air strike hit a residential area in Ma’arrat al-Nu’man, located 1 km from the main road to Ariha. Two men were killed, and four other persons were injured, including two elderly women, who had also returned to gather their belongings. In another attack, on 30 December, Government forces reportedly launched barrel bomb strikes that struck a house in northern Ma’arrat al-Nu’man, while a team of rescuers was helping a displaced family to leave. An 11-month-old baby boy and one rescuer were killed. 24. Pro-Government forces also intensified efforts to recapture Ariha. On 5 January, at around 2 p.m., six aircraft-launched munitions struck an area of approximately 200 square metres in western Ariha, to which displaced civilians from Ma’arrat al-Nu’man and Khan Sheikhoun had recently fled. The attack damaged a water distribution point, where civilians had gathered to collect water, in addition to residential homes, a kindergarten and a mosque. Interviewees who had observed the affected site described seeing dismembered bodies, some badly burned, near a large crater of approximately 200 metres in diameter. At least 13 civilians were killed, including four children, and 30 others were injured. 25. Other areas of strategic importance, such as Saraqib, were also struck by proGovernment forces, with devastating impact. For example, on 2 February, between 9.30 and 10 a.m., pro-Government forces launched a series of air strikes, reportedly also using barrel bombs, that struck a home in Sarmin, near Nayrab town – a gateway for gaining control over 20 21 22 6 Ma’arrat al-Nu’man has historically had a strong civil society presence, along with the cities of Saraqib, Salqin and Atarib. The local council reportedly entered into an agreement with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in 2019, prohibiting an armed presence inside the town. 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. A/HRC/27/60, paras. 109–111; A/HRC/33/55, paras. 42–65; and A/HRC/34/64, paras. 30–40. See also www.refworld.org/docid/58c80d884.html.