All of the affected neighborhoods were widely considered by the authorities and by witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch to be opposition strongholds. Thousands of families have lost their homes as a result of these demolitions. Many of the demolished buildings were apartment blocks several stories high, some as many as eight. The total building area demolished, based on analysis of the satellite imagery, is at least 145 hectares – an area equivalent to about 200 soccer fields. The seven cases Human Rights Watch documented took place between July 2012 and July 2013 in the following areas: the Masha` al-Arb`een and Wadi al-Jouz neighborhoods in Hama, and the Qaboun, Tadamoun, Barzeh, Mezzeh military airport, and Harran Al-`Awamid neighborhoods in and near Damascus. The United Nations Security Council should refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Syrian government, as part of its Geneva II negotiations, should make a commitment to immediately end demolitions that violate international law and to compensate and provide alternative housing to the victims, Human Rights Watch said. “These unlawful demolitions are the latest additions to a long list of crimes committed by the Syrian government.” “Wiping entire neighborhoods off the map is not a legitimate tactic of war,” said Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch.
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