A/HRC/24/46 displaced from Al-Qusayr were killed when the army shelled orchards on the outskirts of the town. Between 5 and 12 June, Government shelling targeted internally displaced persons fleeing Al-Qusayr, the vast majority of whom were civilians and hors de combat fighters. Civilians were killed in the shelling as they attempted to cross the Damascus Homs highway in search of a safe haven. 32. During the attack on Al-Qusayr and the villages around it, the Government deployed extensive aerial and artillery capabilities. This included imprecise weaponry such as surface-to-surface missiles which destroyed not only individual targets but also blocks of buildings. That the majority of civilians were killed in the shelling and aerial bombardment underlines the failure to take adequate precautions to protect civilians. 33. As set out in the chapter on Unlawful Attacks, Government forces consistently transgressed the fundamental principle of the laws of war that they must at all t imes distinguish between civilian and military objectives. 34. Government forces and Hezbollah also positioned military objectives inside the villages to the south-west of Al-Qusayr, endangering the civilian population and violating international legal obligations. Anti-Government armed groups 35. Anti-Government armed groups shelled villages west of Al-Qusayr, home predominantly to a Shia community, without taking precautions to protect civilians living inside. On 27 May, a Lebanese girl aged 17 was killed in a rebel mortar attack on the Hezbollah stronghold of Hermel. On 11 June, one man was killed and several people were injured during a rocket attack also on Hermel. 36. Anti-Government armed groups used mortars, rockets and snipers in a manner that failed to distinguish civilian and military objectives, thereby committing unlawful attacks. 37. Armed groups also operated within civilian areas, including in the town of AlQusayr itself, violating international legal obligations to avoid positioning milit ary objectives within or near densely populated areas. Imposition of sieges Pro-Government forces 38. Government forces and Hezbollah had imposed a siege on the Al-Qusayr area since late 2012. In the weeks prior to the military offensive, the siege tightened considerably with harrowing consequences for the civilians remaining inside Al-Qusayr town and the surrounding villages. The cutting off of medical supplies into Al-Qusayr town, in particular, had dire consequences for the ability of the hospitals and clinics to treat those injured by shelling and gunfire. 39. As detailed in the section on Sieges and Attacks on Food Security, pro -Government forces have a legal obligation to allow and facilitate the unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief. The use of starvation as a method of warfare is clearly prohibited under the laws of war. There is strong evidence to suggest the siege was imposed for the specific reason to render the conditions of life unbearable, weakening the armed groups and forcing civilians , who were so able, to flee. 40. Government forces and Hezbollah have imposed sieges and blockades in the AlQusayr region, without complying with their obligations under international humanitarian law. 38