Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS2581

Incident date

October 1, 2017

Location

الطوب, al-Toub, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

35.1739486, 40.3728676 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In what several sources referred to as a “massacre”, between 12 and 20 civilians, including several women and children, were killed and dozens left wounded, following alleged Russian or Assad-waged airstrikes in al-Toub, Deir Ezzor, local media reported.

Many sources reported simultaneously about airstrikes in both the towns of al-Toub and al-Bouleil that day, reporting a total of 22 to 25 casualties, including a family of seven as noted by @abdulrahmanhaaj and Bulilnews.

Regarding figures specific to al-Toub, reports said that between 12 and 20 civilians died. The lowest number was reported by most sources including the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SN4HR), Jsirtv and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), while the highest was given by only one source, Sound and Picture.

A total of 16 victims were identified by name by various sources, hereof eight women and eight men. However, it remains unclear from the reports how many of them were children or adults.

Between five and nine of the victims were reportedly children while two to six were women, various media reported. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, many of the victims came from the same two families, which is reflected by the list of names below.

The large majority of the sources identified Russia as responsible. However, the Smart News Agency, Baladi News and DeirEzzor24 attributed the incident to both Russia and the Syrian regime. Smart News Agency cited the director of the “Voice and Picture” Mohammed al-Khadr who told the media that the warplanes were likely to belong to the regime and Russia.

DeirEzzor24 added that the Syrian regime and Russia in recent days had intensified the aerial shelling of several areas in Deir Ezzor. And in addition to that, @mohammad_ali_2: 300 reported that Russian had carried out 300 airstrikes within 48 hours in the area.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (7)

Age unknown male killed
Age unknown female killed
Age unknown male killed
Age unknown male killed
Age unknown male killed
Age unknown male killed
Age unknown male killed

Family members (4)

Age unknown female killed
Age unknown female killed
Age unknown female killed
Age unknown male killed

Family members (2)

Age unknown female killed
Age unknown female killed

The victims were named as:

Age unknown male killed
Age unknown female killed
Age unknown female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12 – 20
  • (5–9 children2–8 women8 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–24
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (28) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Image associated with the the aerial shelling in Al-Toub in Deir Ezzor, October 1st, 2017, however, the source does not clarify the location and it could be a generic image (via @amsiiraq)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Russian Military

Russia has not reported any strikes between October 1st - 31st 2017.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12 – 20
  • (5–9 children2–8 women8 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–24
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (28) [ collapse]