Israel continued air attacks targeting Syrian no access to food, electricity and enough government, Iranian and Hizbullah forces in water for more than 60 days. Syria. The government continued to block UN aid Factors including corruption, currency to Rukban camp in the isolated area between depreciation and Covid-19 measures the Syrian and Jordanian borders known as increased food insecurity and poverty. “the berm”, where tens of thousands of UNLAWFUL ATTACKS people still lived in harsh conditions without access to healthcare, sanitation or clean In early 2021, the government, supported by water. The government denied UN agencies Russian government forces, intensified aerial access to Menbij and Kobani, towns in north- and ground attacks on north-west Syria east Syria, forcing residents to rely mainly on under the control of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, support from international humanitarian including Idlib governorate and Aleppo organizations and the Autonomous countryside, according to the UN. The Administration, which were unable to meet attacks targeted civilians and civilian their needs. infrastructure including hospitals on the UN On 9 July, the UN Security Council deconfliction list, residential buildings and conditionally renewed for six months the markets, killing and injuring several civilians. authorization of Bab al-Hawa crossing point According to the Independent International for the delivery of UN humanitarian aid from 2 Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Turkey to north-west Syria. Republic (UN Commission of Inquiry), the The closure of al-Yarubiyah border crossing government launched guided missiles and in 2020, which ended UN delivery of aid artillery towards a hospital in Atareb in from Iraq, exacerbated the humanitarian western Aleppo countryside early on 21 crisis in north-east Syria. Due to the March, killing at least eight civilian patients government’s bureaucratic impediments and and injuring 13 others, including five medical restrictions on access, UN agencies and their workers. The report added that later that day, implementing partners could not deliver the government launched air strikes at a gas enough aid, especially medical aid. facility, destroying 18 trailers parked near ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ENFORCED Bab al-Hawa crossing point. As a result, DISAPPEARANCES humanitarian organizations operating at the border area had to temporarily suspend their SYRIAN GOVERNMENT operations. The government continued to subject tens of DENIAL OF HUMANITARIAN ACCESS thousands of people, including journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and political Government forces besieged civilians and activists, to enforced disappearance, many blocked their access to food, water and for up to 10 years. essential services and continued to impede Between January and April, the government access to UN humanitarian agencies in the arbitrarily arrested 400 individuals, including south and north. judges, lawyers, journalists and public sector Between 24 June and mid-September, the employees, for their online criticism of the government besieged thousands of civilians government’s handling of the economic in Daraa al-Balad to pressure armed crisis. In a rare move, on 11 May, two weeks opposition forces to surrender and evacuate. ahead of the presidential election, the Throughout the siege, government forces government released them. prevented humanitarian organizations from Government forces subjected refugees, delivering food, medical supplies and other including children, who returned to Syria life-saving aid.1 A resident said that the only between mid-2017 and April 2021, to bakery in the neighbourhood had stopped arbitrary detention; torture and other ill- working after the flour ran out and there was treatment, including rape and other sexual Amnesty International Report 2021/22 354