On November 29, 2024, an artillery shell struck student housing at Aleppo University. Two students were killed, and 11 others injured.

A university staff member, under anonymity, confirmed that a shell hit the second floor of a dormitory with students inside at the time.

The shelling occurred during an escalation in violence between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants and Syrian government forces. The violence was a part of a successful move by rebel groups to topple President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the targeting of university facilities in armed conflict. Parties to a conflict may only attack legitimate military targets; where a party suspects that a civilian facility—such as a university building—is being used for military purposes, that party has a duty to take every action practicable to verify that this suspicion is correct before initiating an attack. In the event of such an attack, parties must take all practicable precautions to avoid or minimize damage to civilian facilities. Likewise, parties must refrain from using higher education facilities for military purposes during active conflict. Further, parties must refrain from launching attacks which may be expected to cause disproportionate damage to civilian facilities.

Sources:
https://news.rambler.ru/army/53827946-studenty-odnogo-iz-krupneyshih-vuzov-sirii-pogibli-pri-obstrele/
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/four-civilians-killed-attack-aleppos-university-city-syria-state-news-agency-2024-11-29/
https://www.waaytv.com/news/syrian-rebels-enter-aleppo-for-first-time-in-eight-years-during-shock-offensive/article_7fb545cf-f86b-5ebc-b091-fb77502a0b10.html
https://npasyria.com/en/118797/