A/HRC/36/55 western Aleppo city. They remained there the following day while warring parties worked out disagreements among themselves. Evacuees recalled fearfully boarding buses prior to leaving Fu’ah and Kafraya after armed group members fired shots that injured two women. 40. While waiting in Al-Rashidin, evacuees received very limited amounts of food so, when at around 3 p.m. someone began distributing snacks from a silver car, dozens of children gathered around the car. About a half an hour later, a blue pickup arrived and evacuees, mostly women and children, rushed to it believing it too would be bringing food. Instead, within seconds, the pickup exploded, killing at least 96 people, including 68 children and 13 women. Another 276 individuals were injured, including 42 children and 78 women, at least 1 of whom was pregnant. As people screamed and scattered around, some onlookers yelled sectarian insults at the Shia victims. A mother whose husband took their two sons to obtain food from the silver vehicle described rushing to the scene upon hearing the explosion, but she was forced by armed group fighters to return to the convoy. She subsequently learned that her 10-year-old son had died. 41. Although the vast majority of casualties were evacuees from Fu’ah and Kafraya, at least 10 armed group fighters were also killed in Al-Rashidin. Casualties were taken to hospitals in Bab al-Hawa, Idlib; Atareb, Aleppo; Aqrabat, Idlib; Saraqeb, Idlib; and Thawed al-Kemnah, Aleppo. The remaining evacuees, however, were transported from AlRashidin to Jibreen, Aleppo, on the evening of 15 April, without knowing the whereabouts of their families. In Jibreen, evacuees provided the names of those missing to government authorities, and some of the injured have since been reunited with their families. At least 46 persons, including a 3-year-old boy, remain missing. 42. While a number of those missing are likely still hospitalized, at least one group of 17 Shia individuals, including elderly persons and children, were taken hostage by armed group fighters immediately after receiving treatment in makeshift hospitals in western Aleppo. Some hostages were released after prolonged negotiations involving the swap of a high-ranking armed group leader, but at least 15 others, including one 4-year-old child, remain in captivity. 43. No party has claimed responsibility for the attack in Al-Rashidin, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham have explicitly denied involvement. While there is insufficient information from which to identify the perpetrator, there are significant indications to conclude the attack was carried out by armed group factions or fighters. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the blue pickup that detonated arrive from opposition-held territory, and the location of the convoy was under the control of a number of armed groups, including Nour al-Din al-Zenki (then part of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham), Ahrar al-Sham and Free Syrian Army groups. Further, vehicle borne improvised explosive devices have primarily been a modus operandi of extremist factions and some armed groups throughout the conflict. In view of the high number of civilian casualties, particularly among children, it is clear that Shia civilians from Fu’ah and Kafraya were the object of the attack, amounting to the war crime of intentional attacks against civilians. 44. On 18 May, ISIL militants attacked the town of Aqarib al-Safiyah and attempted to attack nearby Al-Manbouja village in the Hamah countryside. Both areas were under Government control at the time, and located on the border of ISIL-held territory, close to Al-Salamyia — a strategic location for warring parties vying for control of Hamah. Aqarib al-Safiyah and Al-Manbouja are predominantly populated by Ismailis, a minority Shia Muslim community. 45. Residents of Aqarib al-Safiyah awoke at 4 a.m. on 18 May to the sound of gunshots. As they attempted to flee, many were killed in the streets by ISIL snipers positioned at the village’s water reservoir and on the roofs of houses. At least two families were hiding in bedrooms when ISIL militants stormed their homes and shot them at close range; among the victims were a 4-month-old baby and an 11-year-old boy. In total, 52 civilians were killed, including 7 women and 12 children. Another 100 were injured, including 2 girls who suffered serious head wounds. The vast majority of victims were Ismaili Muslims. Survivors recalled being verbally insulted by ISIL fighters on account of their religious 9