During the evening of Monday, February 12th, 2024, one male Kurdish civilian was killed and another male Kurdish civilian was injured as a result of artillery shelling allegedly by Turkish forces in the Sherawa region of Afrin, Syria. The shelling took place on Monday evening and resulted in further material damage to the village of Binah.

Jwan Izzat Al-Aswad, a 36-year-old father of five children, was killed as a result of the shelling. The shelling hit a car which also resulted in Adnan Isso Katto being seriously injured. The car is thought to have belonged to one of the two civilians, however, the ownership status was not entirely clear. Reportedly, further artillery shelling in the vicinity of the funeral and burial ceremony took place.

Facebook user @Human Rights Organization Afin-Syria claimed that as a result, a large number of villagers were prevented from attending the burial ceremonies amid fears of further shelling. Furthermore, those who did attend were only men.

@Human Rights Organization Afin-Syria’s Facebook post shared several images of the funeral and included a photo of Al-Aswad. In addition, Al-Aswad’s elderly father was reportedly injured by a drone attack roughly two months prior.

The other victim, Adnan Isso Katto, who is 39 years of age, was admitted to Afrin Hospital in Al-Shahba with serious injuries to receive treatment, according to reports by Rudaw News.

Material damage occurred throughout the village of Binah, with the home of civilian Abu Amir receiving significant damage, as reported by Kurd Online News. Kurd Online News also claimed that Binah was struck by “more than 10 artillery shells on civilian homes.” Notable damage to properties is evident in photos and videos uploaded to several local websites, including Hawar News.

Several organizations, including Hawar News, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and Alyaum TV, reported that the belligerents were Turkish forces or factions loyal to the Turkish forces.

Lastly, it is worth noting that Ali Al-Manhal, a soldier who served at the Syrian regime forces checkpoint near the village municipality, was also believed to have been killed in the shelling.