Armed opposition groups in Syria are committing war crimes around the Sheikh Maqsoud district of Aleppo city, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] said [press release] Friday. The human rights group found that these armed opposition groups are routinely carrying out attacks that indiscriminately target civilians and civilian sites, resulting in murder and destruction in the area. AI has greatly relied on third party testimony as well as surveillance footage to document the evidence of destroyed buildings and and deterioration conditions as a result from shelling and possible chemical weapons:

As well as being subjected to indiscriminate shelling, civilians in Sheikh Maqsoud are effectively trapped in the area amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation. Continuing clashes have prevented aid from entering Sheikh Maqsoud and people from leaving. Government forces have only allowed civilians requiring medical attention out of the area on the side that they control and have also restricted the entry of medical supplies and food – with only vegetables and bread allowed in. According to residents, the pharmacies in Sheikh Maqsoud are empty, many have shut down.

AI has called on the international community to condemn the attacks and to ensure that they are not facilitating abuses though arming opposition groups that target civilians.

The Syrian Civil War [JURIST backgrounder] has been ongoing since 2011 when opposition groups first began protesting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and the increasingly bloody nature of the conflict has put pressure on the international community to intervene. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria on Wednesday called [JURIST report] on factions on both sides of the Syrian civil war to ensure their targets are not unlawful civilian sites such as hospitals. Six human rights organizations, including AI and Human Rights Watch, recently called [JURIST report] for the next UN Secretary-General to do everything he or she can to protect innocent civilians whose nations face armed conflict.