Showing questionable judgment, Syria's official state-run news outlet invited people to share their snapshots of summer in the war-torn country on Monday.
The outlet's @SANA_English account tweeted the hashtag #SummerinSyria to its 15,600 followers and encouraged people to share their "moments of summer" across the country, which is currently in the midst of a bloody civil war.
Now that #summer is upon us, snap us your moments of summer in #Syria using the hashtag #SummerInSyria pic.twitter.com/sutvUuZUoj— SANA English (@SANA_English) June 22, 2015
Four years after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad first led a brutal crackdown against a popular internal uprising, the country is devastated, with several major cities reduced to rubble and millions of citizens displaced.
Those critical of the role that Syria's government has played in the horrors of the ongoing conflict were quick to share their depictions of what they say is a typical Syrian summer.
It's clear this wasn't the kind of response SANA was hoping for.
#SummerInSyria Greetings from Homs @SANA_English pic.twitter.com/U4uwCeqUlC— Majdi (@Majdi__M) June 23, 2015
This isn't the first time the news outlet has seemed oblivious to the ongoing conflict. SANA regularly reports on lighthearted events in the capital city of Damascus, like a yoga day celebration at the Indian embassy earlier this week, in the midst of the crisis.
PLS RT: @SANA_English invites Syrians to share their summer holiday snaps with the hashtag #SummerInSyria pic.twitter.com/lrM5SBuXcA— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) June 23, 2015
More than 220,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, according to the United Nations.
Over 4 million people fled to neighboring countries, fueling a migrant crisis internationally on the largest scale the world has seen since World War II. A further 7.6 million people are displaced within Syria.
On Tuesday, U.N. investigators said Syrian government forces and opposition fighters are both targeting civilians in a way that has led to "unspeakable suffering" in the country.
The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria says with "each passing day there are fewer safe places in Syria."
#SummerInSyria #Yarmouk#Syria pic.twitter.com/0xRC1I8bQx— Sam Johanson (@OGHARIT) June 23, 2015
The report says government forces have consistently failed to employ precision weapons "when attacking targets in dense urban areas, causing mass civilian casualties."
According to the U.N. report, the government use of barrel bombs in aerial attacks against whole areas rather than specific targets "is in violation of international humanitarian law and, as previously documented, amounts to the war crime of targeting civilians."
But hey. Summer.