In late 2017, the Syrian government forces captured the cities, towns, and villages located in the south of Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor province, these forces launched large-scale looting operations against houses and markets with support by the affiliated and supporting militias.
JFL interviewed a group of civilians whose houses were looted in different areas of the province, where the interviewees talked about the looting.
The testimonies that were collected by JFL suggest that widespread looting in the areas recaptured by the government forces along with the affiliated and supporting militias in Deir Ezzor province, where looting operations were and still are against most of the towns and villages.
Rule 52 of the ICRC study on the International Customary Humanitarian Law states that “Pillage is prohibited”. Accordingly, “ Pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault “ , is considered as one of the blatant violations for the laws and customs applicable to the armed conflict not of an international character according to article 8, E, V of the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court.
JFL demands to immediate halt of looting operations in the province, and returning back all looted property to their original owners along with allowing international investigation committees to enter the crimes scenes and start investigation.
Read more A Systematic Looting in Deir Ezzor Province
