‘Russian and Iranian’ bombardment targets vacant Syrian primary school
Russian and Iranian fighter jets targeted a Syrian primary school with banned use of cluster bombs. Surprisingly, no children or staff were injured - reportedly on a school trip visiting a nearby mosque.
Primary schoolgirl/protester in Alghadfa, Idlib, Syria. Credit: Ahmad El Khalaf, 2012.
Usaama Abu Jude, a primary school teacher in the Idlib district stated: “Assad, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime have been killing us the Syrian people, the Syrian civilians, the Syrian children for twelve years, and the global community just supports Israel and Ukraine.”
Speaking to me from Northern Syria, nearly ten miles away from the Turkish border, the 38-year-old added: “we are the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, our children deserve to breathe. Dozens of kids could have been killed or another tragic situation of mass injuries because of Assad’s bombardment, because we were on a school trip to the mosque to help refugees from City of Hama and other areas who have taken shelter there, no-one was even present in the school to become injured” stated the Masters degree graduate.
Mohammad Dughaim, an ex-Aljazeera journalist who has covered the Syrian uprising from early 2011 said: “The district of Idlib is in a volatile tragic humanitarian situation, it’s accommodating over five million Syrians, from landowners to Syrian refugees from around the country… being that it remains amongst the few areas in Syria that is not controlled by the Syrian and Iranian regimes entirely – makes it a prime target for bombardment.
Journalist Mohammed Dughaim reports on Syrian events midst the Assad bombardment. Credit: AleppoToday
The tragic events that are facing Gaza, are events that have been normalised to the global community and the UN through Syria. The past 13 years have been inhumane and far different than any other war I’ve covered. The displacement of tens of millions of Syrians, the killing of millions, the political detainment of further millions and the ongoing war crimes of targeting hospitals and schools have been taking place in Syria regularly prior to the sad October 7 events.” stated Dughaim in Arabic.
UNICEF states that Syria has had ‘over 7,000 schools damaged or destroyed and about 2 million children out of school. Many of these children are the most vulnerable, including those recently displaced by insecurity’.
Children receiving aid during a cold winter. Credit: UNICEF/Syria/2019/Delil Souleiman
Abu Abdo Fadel, a Syrian civil engineer stated that schools, bakeries and hospitals are always the first priority for the Assad bombs. “Take a look at what Israel is doing now, that is exactly what Assad and his Shia militia have been doing to us for over ten years. The global community didn’t move to aid us, they left us to continue being victims for this terrorist, how can you justify bombarding children with cluster bombs.
The fact that no kid was injured during this attack is miraculous, and we can only thank God for this, I have already lost 3 nephews, and it could have been four should Adam been in school at the time – God forbid” said Fadel.
A child moving remains of destroyed home from Assad bombardment. Credit: Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME/2014
Dughaim further explained the Assad regime’s history with torturing and killing the Syrian children: “The Syrian uprising started with dozens of young children writing slurs against the Assad Government in the form of graffiti back in 2011. All the children were detained, tortured, and their fingernails were removed in a Russian style torture process. This upset the Syrian public as a whole and allowed them to unite as one in calling to topple this atrocious regime.
A further example to this is the scenario of Hamza Al-Khateeb, the globe went crazy over him. A ten-year-old kid arrested by the Syrian regime for calling for freedom. He was tortured where even his penis was cut off, he was tortured until death… yet Assad still heads Syria and managed to get away with it and other war crimes.”
Turkish protests calling for justice for Hamza Alkhateeb in 2011. Credit: Reuters
Abu Abdo Fadel says that": “the chilling account of the Assad regime's brutal treatment of children, exemplified by Hamza Al-Khateeb, underscores the urgent need for international intervention”. The complicity of Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah in supporting Assad's atrocities further compounds the humanitarian catastrophe, demanding a resolute response to safeguard innocent lives.
Dughaim further added that Russia’s Putin is equally to blame, stating that: “Russia gave Assad weapons, fighter jets and mercenaries, instead of being an army to protect their people they opened the doors for terrorists like Russia and Isis to kill our innocent civilians too.”
Bashar Al-Assad is backed by the Iranian regime. In addition to Russia, Hezbolla and other extreme terrorist Shia Militia, they have all participated in killing hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians during the past 13 years.
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Written by: Ahmad El Khalaf, a Senior News Producer and ex-ITV News war journalist with 3 years of on-ground war journalism experience,
and 13+ years of journalism experience.
Written for: Coventry University’s CovFeed News.