Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

R4328

Incident date

June 23, 2021

Location

مقبرة افس, Afes Cemetery, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.90606, 36.807296 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between two and five civilians, including one to two children, were killed and five to eight others were injured in alleged Russian or regime airstrikes and/or artillery strikes on Afes on June 23, 2021.

According to @abazeid89, “artillery shelling (regime / Russia) targeted the cemetery of the town of Afs in Idlib during a funeral and burial of a deceased, the initial outcome speaks of four martyrs”. @Jamil_Alhasaan added that the funeral was for “one of the deceased by the Iranian militias stationed in Saraqib” and JisrTV clarifies that the funeral was for a woman.

@syr_television gave the count that “two killed in the initial outcome of the bombing”. The majority of other sources, including @OrientNews, reported that three to four civilians were killed and Resala Post published that “5 martyrs and 6 injuries rose as a preliminary and non-final outcome”. Of four killed, @zelal_abo_adnan identified that two of them are children.

@OrientNews also reported that civilians were injured but did not specify how many. Syrian Civil Defense posted that five civilians were injured, with one of them in critical condition. The highest number was given by Zaman Al Wasl, which reported that eight civilians were wounded in addition to the three civilians killed.

A tweet from @anasanas84 named the victims killed: Rowad Ahmed Al-Hammadin (child) and Muhammad Nuri al-Musa. @anasanas84 later added “the death of the young man, Abdullah Al-Hamadin, as a result of his injuries”.

Sources were conflicted as to who was responsible, with @abazeid89 and @mohmad_rasheed blaming both Russia and the regime for the strikes while @humam_isa attributed the strikes to the regime.

The incident occured in the evening.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

10 years old male killed
male Older brother of Rowad killed

The victims were named as:

Adult male killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the cemetery of Afes (مقبرة افس), for which the exact coordinates are: 35.90606, 36.807296.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 5
  • (1–2 children2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5–8
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (41) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (18) [ collapse]

  • Image of Muhammad Nuri al-Musa, killed in strikes on Afes on June 23, 2021. (Image posted by @anasanas84)
  • Image of Rowad Ahmed Al-Hammadin, killed in strikes on Afes on June 23, 2021. (Image posted by @anasanas84)
  • Image of Afes cemetery, which was struck by artillery during a funeral for a villager on June 23, 2021. (Image posted by @humam_isa)
  • Image of Afes cemetery, which was struck by artillery during a funeral for a villager on June 23, 2021. (Image posted by @mohmad_rasheed)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Graphic image of one of the victims of the strikes on Afes, killed on June 23, 2021. (Image posted by @Sharif199629)
  • Image of Afes cemetery, which was struck by artillery during a funeral for a villager on June 23, 2021. Blood can be seen on one of the graves from a victim of the strikes. (Image posted by @fawaz_jwaid)
  • Image of one of the victims of the strikes on Afes, killed on June 23, 2021. (Image posted by @rdwanalshhwan)
  • Dead and wounded as regime forces bombard a funeral procession in the town of Afs
  • Assad forces target a cemetery during the burial of a dead person in the village of Efes, near the city of Saraqib
  • Image of Afes cemetery, which was struck by artillery during a funeral for a villager on June 23, 2021. A crater in the earth can be seen from the strikes. (Image posted by Macro Media Center)
  • Image of Afes cemetery, which was struck by artillery during a funeral for a villager on June 23, 2021. Blood can be seen on one of the graves from a victim of the strikes. (Image posted by Macro Media Center)
  • Image of Afes cemetery, which was struck by artillery during a funeral for a villager on June 23, 2021. Blood can be seen on one of the graves from a victim of the strikes. (Image posted by Macro Media Center)

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 5
  • (1–2 children2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5–8
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (41) [ collapse]