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A/HRC/24/46 15 2. Anti-government armed groups 106. Children were killed when armed groups indiscriminately shell civilian areas. On 15 June, a 10-year-old boy in Al-Fou’a (Idlib) was killed by indiscriminate shelling from positions in neighbouring Binnish. 107. On 8 June, three armed men executed 15-year-old Mohamed Qatta in Aleppo. Two children were among 27 people killed in Hatla (Dayr az Zawr) on 10 June (see annex II). 108. Some armed groups recruited children under the age of 18. The ranks of both Liwa Al-Tawheed and Jabhat Al-Nusra included fighters between the ages of 14 and 18. Younger fighters were not armed with heavy weaponry, but underwent a training programme and participated in hostilities on the front. One fighter explained that children were recruited because “they fight with enthusiasm; they are fearless”. 109. A 13-year-old boy enlisted with an FSA brigade in Dara’a after his school ceased to operate. He was not allowed to carry weapons or ammunition but used as a porter, whose duties included carrying the wounded and medicines, and preparing ammunition. He was seriously wounded in May. Another boy, who provided support services to an FSA-affiliated group, joined when he was 13 years old after seeing his father humiliated at a checkpoint. 3. Kurdish armed groups 110. In Afrin (Aleppo) and Al Hasakah, the YPG recruited boys and girls from the age of 12. In late 2012, large numbers were recruited to counter an attempt by Jabhat Al-Nusra to enter Al Hasakah from Turkey. IV. Violations concerning the conduct of hostilities A. Unlawful attacks 111. Most civilian deaths result from indiscriminate or disproportionate shelling. These unlawful attacks are a primary reason for the movement of people inside the Syrian Arab Republic and over its borders. 112. Unlawful attacks by government forces were documented in almost every governorate. In particular, towns and villages hosting internally displaced persons from restive areas, such as Homs, were relentlessly assaulted. 113. Some anti-government armed groups – notably in northern Aleppo and in Idlib countryside – also shelled indiscriminately. 1. Government and pro-government forces 114. Across the country, the Government shelled civilian areas with artillery, mortars and rockets. Aerial bombardment by helicopters and jet fighters was common and, in some areas, a daily occurrence. Imprecise weaponry, such as surface-to-surface missiles and cluster munitions, was regularly used. Defectors indicated that there was a retributive element to some attacks, to “punish” civilians for the presence of armed groups. 115. Government forces continued to fiercely shell and bombard contested areas of strategic importance (see annex III for a description of the attack on Al Qusayr and the surrounding villages by government forces and Hizbullah). 116. Across Homs, shelling and bombardments have intensified since April. Civilian populations residing in Job Al-Jarrah, Houlaia, Al-Houlah, Al-Talif, Ain Tamora