The effects of cities war and the challenges of implementing the principles of international humanitarian law

With the major transformations witnessed by the second half of the twentieth century, when humans went to the construction of cities, building huge urban centers and housing in them, and the tremendous scientific and technical progress associated with contemporary life, an unforgettable link to the lives of human beings in cities, and therefore these centers have emerged as a possible theater of operations Combat; The outbreak of the war in the inhabited urban centers has become the dominant feature of combat activities in recent decades, and this pattern emphasizes many scenes that took place in recent years in some cities of the world from Baghdad to Aleppo, Mosul, Sana'a, Mogadishu, Donetsk, Correviv, Mariusp, and finally Khartoum, Nyalia, Al -Abyad, Al -Jenina, Madani And the International Committee of the Red Cross says: "Cities and towns will remain main fighting arenas in future armed conflicts." In exchange for the siege, tunnels, incinerators and snipers, the drones and the digital war emerged at the present time in a new form of conflicts in urban areas, as we see in the Russian -Ukrainian war, and before the war of Armenia and Azerbaijan, "unfortunately, it seems that the digital or cyber war, it may be the new preferred natural option in the coming years. City War Effects 1. City war has unbearable casualties in urban centers, where military and civil targets are, located in the same region, and perhaps from a zero distance often. Heavy explosive weapons, such as large bombs, shells, missiles, mortars, artillery and aviation, are likely to hit the military target, but the impact of the broad explosion that affects the explosion area often comes on the entire surrounding area as well, as it causes severe damage to civilians, causing deaths, injuries and nervous shocks, in particular Amid children and women. (Traumataization). 2. Fighting in urban areas "often destroys the vital infrastructure needed to supply necessary services such as electricity, water, sanitation, health care, food, education or damage to it." 3. The residents of urban areas, who depend in their daily livelihood on supporting infrastructure, goods and services provided by others, are by their nature vulnerable to market disturbances and supply interruptions. The interruption of one service often leads to the collapse of many other services (services chains); It exacerbates the risks of public health and the means of living, which in turn may lead to a great displacement of groups of the population. Bombing and artillery may cause irreparable damage to hospitals, prevent ambulances reaching the wounded, and disrupt medical supplies. Medical workers, just like civilians, are also affected, and they may be forced to leave their jobs and flee. 4. In residential neighborhoods occupied by the rebels and turned them into military targets and open fighting fronts, it has become difficult to find the basics of life, from water, food, health care, jobs, education and decent housing. "People often have to flee their homes, turning their lives upside down and exposing them to greater dangers, such as sexual violence, gender -based violence, where they lose their livelihoods and support networks. In many cases, local communities are responsible for helping the displaced people, while themselves may also suffer from the effects of the conflict. " 5. Uninterrupted concerns about neighborhood safety and constant anxiety over food and other necessities exacerbate the personal difficulties associated with a shocking situation. Also, extreme sadness is common, like fear.” While most people will be able to continue to work and overcome the sorrow they endured, others will suffer from psychological trauma that may accompany them for a long time in addition to the sick fear that they may need for a long -term psychological and social treatment Psychosocial Treatment) 6. After the rifles are silent, displacement can continue for years, as homes and infrastructure are completely empty, and the landmines, explosive devices and explosive bodies are scattered from the remnants of war and abandoned in residential areas, and it may take years or maybe decades until they are cleared, which prevents safe return for residents. 7. The tremendous destruction caused by the conflict in the city can return the development indicators back for decades. For example, some estimates go to the fact that the cost of the war in Sudan reached April 2024 AD about (200 billion dollars), which is a number equivalent to four times the debts of Sudan, which is considered one of the largest poor in debt in the world. 8. When people are forced to displace and resort in search of safety and to get better opportunities, "the migration of qualified cadres who know how to construct, operate, maintain the infrastructure and the complex systems in which this infrastructure operates becomes a problem. Likewise, the lack of security and the closure of schools means that children may not be able to go to Schools for years (UNICEF estimates that about 9 million children in Sudan are already outside the educational process), which threatens the loss of an entire generation in its endeavor to obtain education and improve life opportunities. The International Committee of the Red Cross believes that the humanitarian consequences of the cities war are complicated, direct and indirect, immediate and long -term, and apparent and hidden. But it is not a catastrophic or an inevitable secondary result of the war. 9. The direct and volatile effects of the use of heavy explosive weapons in urban areas and other populated areas are expected and can be largely avoided. Measures that must be followed to mitigate the effects of the cities war on civilians The question that arises here is how we can reduce or even prevent harm to civilians in the cities war? The parties in the conflict must take the following steps, which are a practical application of the principles of international humanitarian law: A. The parties to the conflict should be concerned with spreading and strengthening international humanitarian law, and training individuals on this given law. B. The need to provide consultants officers specializing in international humanitarian law to provide advice to military leaders at the appropriate level, to help ensure that the decisions taken by leaders are compatible with international humanitarian law, and Articles 82 and 83 of the first additional protocol require 1977 AD. C. The need to include paragraphs of international humanitarian law in operations orders issued to field leaders in what is known as legal operations order. D. Designing the rules of engagement for all forces drawing and defining the conditions and restrictions necessary to use military forces to accomplish their tasks. E. The need to balance between the military necessity, which means the use of military force to achieve a legitimate military goal that can only be achieved with an unusual military action, and this is allowed by the force required to subjugate the enemy at the earliest possible moment, with the minimum loss of lives, resources in the face of humanity, which means human dignity inherent in the human agreed upon globally. F. The need to apply the principle of discrimination, which always means discrimination between civilians and fighters, and between civilian objects and military targets. The principle of discrimination is the spirit of international humanitarian law. G. The necessity of applying the principle of proportionality; It is prohibited to launch an attack that is likely to cause excessive collateral damage compared to the expected, tangible, and direct military advantage. H. The need to not launch any attack on a military target except after an evaluation conducting that the civilian collateral damages are not expected to exceed the envisaged military advantage. I. Implementing the principle of caution, with the constant concern to spare civilians, or civilian objects collateral damage when carrying out military operations by calculating the rate of damage accurately after collecting accurate information about the targets to be attacked, with the accompanying of other principles. J. Reviewing the parties to the conflict, their plans and reassessing their approach of operations in urban areas, including reviewing the doctrines related to the city war, planning and tactics procedures, selection of weapons, and appropriate fighting means and methods, In addition to gathering and analyzing information, as the protection of civilians is a priority in planning operations. K. Avoid using heavy explosive weapons as much as possible, and if they are necessary, this is done considering sufficient measures to alleviate their impact, and to reduce their subsequent effects on civilians and infrastructure. L. Establishing and forming cells for engagement and targeting in various operations leadership centers consisting of officers of operations, intelligence officers, and legal consultants for operations whose task is to collect and analyze information, and to define and elect targets accurately, and to ensure the application of the principles of international humanitarian law when dealing with those targets, especially the principles of humanity and discrimination And necessity, precaution and proportion. In conclusion, we emphasize that the cities war remains one of the most complex and difficult wars for the military who have the burden of reducing losses among the civilian population, and the vital infrastructure of the population to the lowest possible, through the reasonable application of the rules and principles of the law of war with the balance between the two principles of military humanitarian necessity, at the same time, they are preoccupied with how to achieve victory in the war, taking advantage of the immortal principle "The international humanitarian law is not designed to hinder military operations As the possibility of no human and material losses for the cities war has become almost non -existent or impossible, which represents a new challenge to develop the rules of international humanitarian law, and a real test of the will of the international community, which we hope will go to develop new rules that govern combat operations in populated urban centers. • Expert and legal advisor