Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

YS164

Incident date

January 20, 2023

Location

اعزاز, Azaz, Aleppo, Syria

Airwars assessment

Between six and eight civilians, including a woman and up to three children, were injured by alleged Syrian Democratic Forces shelling of the city of Azaz of January 20, 2023.

The @SyriaCivilDefe reported that six people, including a child and a woman, were injured by artillery shelling coming from areas controlled by the Syrian regime and the Syrian Democratic Forces. The @SyriaCivilDefe later revised their toll to eight people injured, including three children and a woman. @mzmgr941 tweeted the same total of eight civilians injured, including a woman and two children.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights stated that six people were injured and that they were members of the Civil Police, while other local sources also referred to “police officers” being injured. The Syrian Network for Human Rights specified that of the seven civilians injured, four were civilian police officers.

@Obaida161999 provided an image with the names of the civilians wounded: 1- Fouad Hamdi son of Mahmoud 54 years old, leg injuries; 2- Mahmoud Al Ojeli 20 years old, shoulder injuries; 3- Thuraya Haj Hasan 40 years old (woman), shoulder injuries; 4- Mohamad Ahmad Khalaf 17 years old, neck injuries;
5- Louai Mohamed Meryamin, 31 years old, back injuries; 6- Mohamed Nour Faysal Idress, 21 years old, back injuries.

@alkhabour21 tweeted that the shelling occurred in the vicinity of the National Hospital in Azaz, and @Razak0000 referred to the shelling as having occurred in residential neighborhoods. Baladi News correspondent in Aleppo countryside added that the shelling affected the “Tal Rifaat” area and the southern neighborhood of the city, partially destroying some properties.

According to @mzmgr941, the shelling occurred to “prevent the revolutionary popular demonstrations in the city”.

All of the sources that reported on the incident attributed the strikes to the SDF or areas controlled by the SDF and regime forces. @AlTareek22 stated that artillery and missile shells were launched against the city of Azaz.

The incident occured in the morning.

The victims were named as:

Fouad Hamdi
54 years old son of Mahmoud 54 years old, leg injuries injured
Mahmoud Al Ojeli
20 years old 20 years old, shoulder injuries injured
Thuraya Haj Hasan
40 years old female 40 years old (woman), shoulder injuries injured
Mohamad Ahmad Khalaf
17 years old injured
Louai Mohamed Meryamin
31 years old injured
Mohamed Nour Faysal Idress
21 years old injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    6–8
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    YPG

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (8) [ collapse]

  • Damage caused by alleged SDF shelling in the city of Azaz on January 20, 2022. (Image posted by @SyriaCivilDefe via Twitter)
  • #Qasd militia targets residential neighborhoods in the center of Azaz with missiles, causing casualties, including police officers. Orient relays the details from the bombing site.
  • Damage caused by alleged SDF shelling in the city of Azaz on January 20, 2022. (Image posted by @AlTareek22 via Twitter)
  • Damage caused by alleged SDF shelling in the city of Azaz on January 20, 2022. (Image posted by @AlTareek22 via Twitter)
  • Damage caused by alleged SDF shelling in the city of Azaz on January 20, 2022. (Image posted by @AlTareek22 via Twitter)
  • Damage caused by alleged SDF shelling in the city of Azaz on January 20, 2022. (Image posted by @SyrianCoalition via Twitter)
  • Damage caused by alleged SDF shelling in the city of Azaz on January 20, 2022. (Image posted by @SyrianCoalition via Twitter)
  • Names of the civilian injured posted by @Obaida161999: 1- Fouad Hamdi son of Mahmoud 54 years old, leg injuries 2- Mahmoud Al Ojeli 20 years old, shoulder injuries 3- Thuraya Haj Hasan 40 years old (woman), shoulder injuries 4- Mohamad Ahmad Khalaf 17 years old, neck injuries 5- Louai Mohamed Meryamin, 31 years old, back injuries 6- Mohamed Nour Faysal Idress, 21 years old, back injuries

YPG Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    YPG
  • YPG position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    6–8
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    YPG

Sources (20) [ collapse]