Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1944

Incident date

May 1, 2020

Location

حقل كونيكو النفطي, Koniko Oil Fields, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

35.341858, 40.319093 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian was reported killed on May 1st, 2020 allegedly by a sniper bullet fired at him by the American troops in Koniko oil field in Deir Ezzor or by YPG/QSD members who guard the oil field as local sources said.

The victim who worked as a teacher in Raqqa city was identified as Yasser Al-Asman. (Yasser Muhammad Al Aslan/Al-Osman as other variations of the name).

SMART Agency reported that the victim “was heading on the main road from the countryside of Deir Ezzor Al-Sharqi to Raqqa, but his car veered off the road towards the [oil] field, by mistake, which drove the American forces to kill him instantly.”

SMART also said that YPG members transported his body to to the Hospital of Jadid Bakar village in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, and asked the hospital staff to communicate with his relatives to receive his body.

On a different story of how the civilian was killed, Shaam News reported that he was first shot by the guards of the oil field who belong to YPG/QSD as he took the wrong road, and afterwards a US led-coalition warplane targeted his car and burned it completely.

However, Suriye.u.a.d didn’t specify who was responsible but reported “the death of the civilian Yasser Muhammad Aslan with a sniper bullet from the American base in the Koniko oil field, northeast of Deir Ezzor.”

In the second of their September 2020 civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Adult male Other sources named the victim (Yasser Muhammad Al Aslan) killed

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck in the vicinity of the Koniko Oil Fields (حقل كونيكو النفطي), in the east of Deir Ezzor (دير الزور‎). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for the oil field are: 35.341858, 40.319093.

  • Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck in the vicinity of the Koniko Oil Fields (كونيكو النفطي بريف), in the east of Deir Ezzor (دير الزور‎).

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, YPG

Sources (3) [ collapse]

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFV198117
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Sep 9, 2020
  • May 1, 2020, near the Koniko Oil Fields, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3131/CS1944 37SFV198117

YPG Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    YPG
  • YPG position on incident
    Open incident
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, YPG

Sources (3) [ collapse]