A/HRC/43/CRP.6 young as 10 were killed or injured by sniper fire. For example, a 14-year-old boy was injured in Atarib in February 2012, when he was shot in the legs by a sniper while on his way to buy food at a local market. In Aleppo, a doctor reported that, in October 2013, at least one child was injured each day by sniper fire. 23. Countless children were killed as a result of the use of cluster munitions, thermobaric bombs, improvised munitions such as barrel bombs and improvised rocket assisted munitions, and chemical weapons, often used against civilian objects, such as schools and hospitals.17With the rapid increase of large-scale aerial operations and ground offensives, damage to key civilian infrastructure rose dramatically, resulting in alarming numbers of child casualties. For instance, on 26 October 2016, Government forces conducted a series of airstrikes that hit a complex of schools and its surroundings in Haas (Idlib Governorate) killing a total of 36 civilians, including 21 children aged between 7 and 17.18 An additional 61 children were injured in the attack and interviewees reported that some had limbs amputated while others lost sight in one or both eyes. The Haas school complex was composed of five educational institutions and had over 2,000 students. Following the events, the schools stopped functioning for a period in anticipation of further attacks. 24. Children who had been injured during hostilities feared seeking medical treatment at public hospitals due to widespread arrests targeting youths and those accompanying them.19 The Commission documented instances of arrest and detention of wounded children in medical facilities in 2012 in Aleppo Governmental hospitals. Authorities claimed that shrapnel or sniper injuries was evidence of participation in activities supporting opposition groups. In the early days of the conflict, in Aleppo, Damascus, Dar’a, Dayr az Zawr, Hama, Homs, Idlib and Ladhiqiyah Governorates, medical staff denied treatment to injured persons for fear of being arrested by Government security forces stationed in or around public hospitals. When a 12-year-old boy was brought to a public hospital in Damascus in July 2012 with shrapnel wounds, in order to receive treatment, he was pressured by his male relatives to say that he was injured after shelling carried out by opposition groups. 25. In other instances documented by the Commission, children, upon admission to hospitals, were subjected to harsh treatment exploiting pre-existing injuries. For example, in early 2012 a 13-year-old child was brought into a military hospital in Harasta with a head injury. The child was beaten with a belt by pro-Government forces and/or militia. Government forces stationed on the rooftop of hospital buildings in various locations including Aleppo, Damascus, Dar’a, Dayr az Zawr, Hama, Homs, Idlib and Ladhiqiyah Governorates also prevented attempts by civilians, including children, to approach hospital buildings by firing at them. 26. Another tactic with devastating effects on children was the frequent use of siege warfare by most parties to the conflict.20 Albeit each siege was unique, towns and villages were besieged, often for years, regularly accompanied by instances of near-constant shelling and aerial bombardment. These tactics caused scores of casualties, including children, and 17 18 19 20 8 As previously noted by the Commission, the pattern of attacks strongly suggest that pro-Government forces intentionally and systematically target medical facilities, repeatedly committing the war crime of deliberately attacking protected objects. Intentionally directing attacks against health-care workers and ambulances amounts to the war crimes of intentionally attacking medical personnel and transport. See A/HRC/27/60, paras. 109-111; A/HRC/33/55, paras. 42-65; A/HRC/34/64, paras. 30-40. A/HRC/36/55 paras. 62-66. See also Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, “Human rights abuses and international humanitarian law violations in the Syrian Arab Republic, 21 July 2016-28 February 2017”, paras. 15-19. This pattern of targeting continues as of the drafting of this report. See A/HRC/34/CRP.3, paras 21-31. “Assault on medical care in Syria”, conference room paper A/HRC/24/CRP.2, paras 32 – 37. While siege warfare is not in itself prohibited under international humanitarian law, the laying of sieges must be in conformity with all relevant international humanitarian law rules. The methods employed in Syria to carry out sieges, as documented by the Commission since 2012, however, have amounted to egregious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law and, in some instances, to war crimes. See “Sieges as a weapon of war: Encircle, starve, surrender, evacuate.”, 29 May 2018.