Incident Code

YS128

Location

اعزاز, A'zaaz, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.581669, 37.050417
Accuracy: Nearby landmark

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

At least one male civilian was killed and up to nine others were injured, including a child and a woman, in alleged Syrian Democratic Forces’ shelling of the city of A’zaaz on March 23, 2022.

Euphrates Post reported that Syrian Defense Forces shelled the city of A’zaaz with more than 15 rockets, which resulted in the killing of the civilian Ahmed al-Khalaf and the injury of seven other people, including a child. Sources added that “the rockets landed near the Al-Dalla roundabout in the city of Azaz, in a densely populated area, and in the vicinity of the Azaz Security Directorate.”

@DeirEzzorNow identified one civilian as being killed, adding that six other civilians were injured, including a child and an elderly man. @DeirEzzorNow also provided the names of the civilians injured: Muhammed Ural, Muhammad Khalaf, Ahmed Hajola bin Hassan, Zakaria Halabiya, Nawaf Al-Kadour.

Macro Media Center added that a woman was also in critical condition from the shelling. A tweet from @SYRMMC put the injury count at four while Azzaz media centre posted on Facebook that nine people were injured.

Ramadan Abu Nayef, 60 years old, recounts the moments when his house was subjected to artillery shelling: “We were 8 people in the house, we were having lunch, we heard the sound of the shells coming down the lane immediately and we were distributed in the rooms, but suddenly there was a very strong sound, and dust filled the place, the targeting was inside our house and a few meters away from one of my children, but thank God no one was injured, and we survived Miraculously, from death, when this crime does not continue, we have the right to live in safety, without bombing and without fear.”

@ShahbaPress identified “Katyusha rockets” as being used during the attack. Syrian Network for Human Rights added that the shells hit residential buildings in the city and “the bombing caused severe damage in the areas that were hit.” In addition, Enab Baladi News mentioned that public facilities were also subject to artillery shelling.

The majority of sources attributed the strikes to the Syrian Democratic Forces while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “rockets have been fired from areas controlled by the Regime and Kurdish forces”.

Victims

Individuals

Ahmed al-Khalaf أحمد نواف الخلف
male killed
Muhammed Ural محمد اورال
injured
Muhammad Khalaf محمد خلف
injured
Ahmed Hajola bin Hassan احمد حاجولة بن حسن
injured
Zakaria Halabiya زكريا حلبية
injured
Nawaf Al-Kadour نواف الكدور
injured

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike
Strike Status
Likely strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
1
1 Man
Civilians reported injured
4–9
1 Child, 1 Woman, 1–2 Men

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the Al-Dalla roundabout (دوار الدلة), within the city of A’zaaz (اعزاز), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.581669, 37.050417. Analysing audio-visual material from sources we have located one image in the area of Al-Dalla roundabout at the coordinates: 36.579069, 37.045456. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"Al-Dalla roundabout","label-type":"black-white","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1},"geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[37.050417,36.581669]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"A","label-type":"white-red","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1,"stroke-opacity":1,"fill-opacity":0},"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[37.046416103839874,36.57894349583355],[37.046815752983086,36.57894349583355],[37.046815752983086,36.57936566139965],[37.046416103839874,36.57936566139965],[37.046416103839874,36.57894349583355]]]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"B","label-type":"white-red","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1,"stroke-opacity":1,"fill-opacity":0},"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[37.04568386077881,36.5790167288013],[37.046021819114685,36.5790167288013],[37.046021819114685,36.57933766069379],[37.04568386077881,36.57933766069379],[37.04568386077881,36.5790167288013]]]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"C","label-type":"white-red","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1,"stroke-opacity":1,"fill-opacity":0},"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[37.04538345336914,36.579014574891474],[37.045675814151764,36.579014574891474],[37.045675814151764,36.57935273799822],[37.04538345336914,36.57935273799822],[37.04538345336914,36.579014574891474]]]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"Source Image Location","label-type":"black-white","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1},"geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[37.045456,36.579069]}}]}

Tagged audio-visual material from sources. Imagery: Azazz Media Office

Military Statements

Syrian Democratic Forces Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Syrian Democratic Forces
Syrian Democratic Forces position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (31)

Sources (47)

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