Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISSY031

Incident date

February 19, 2023

Location

قلعة دمشق, Damascus castle, Damascus, Syria

Airwars assessment

A guard at a historical site in Damascus was injured by allegedIsraeli airstrikes or Syrian regime anti-aircraft missiles on February 19, 2023.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Syrian regime-run news source, reported that Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus ancient castle, causing the injury of one of its guards on duty. SANA added that in addition to severe material damage to the buildings and administrative offices in the castle, the airstrikes caused destruction in the Technical Institute for Applied Arts and the Technical Institute for Archeology.

Sources were conflicted as to who was responsible for the casualties, with Damascus Voice quoting civil sources who blamed the damage on the air defenses while SANA attributed the damage to Israel.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attackers
    Israeli Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]

  • Damage to the Damascus castle and citadel on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus Voice via Facebook)
  • Damage to the Damascus castle and citadel on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus Voice via Facebook)
  • Damage to the Damascus castle and citadel on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus Voice via Facebook)
  • Damage to the Damascus castle and citadel on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus Voice via Facebook)
  • Buildings belonging to the ancient #Damascus Citadel were damaged due to the Israeli bombing

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attackers
    Israeli Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISSY030

Incident date

February 19, 2023

Location

المزرعة, Al Mazra, Damascus, Syria

Airwars assessment

A woman was killed and others were wounded by alleged Israeli airstrikes or Syrian regime anti-aircraft missiles which struck Al Mazra neighborhood in Damascus on February 19, 2023.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a woman was killed at the Al Mazra roundabout in Damascus by Israeli missiles. A tweet from @alhaidar990 reported that a pharmacist named Lillian Odeh was killed in the Al Mazra district of Damascus. Orient News added that “other people” were injured, in additional to material damage.

Sources were conflicted as to who was responsible for the civilian casualties, with the majority of sources attributing the casualties to the Israeli airstrikes while Orient News blamed the anti-aircraft missiles launched by the Syrian regime for killing a woman and injuring other people.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

  • Lillian Odeh Age unknown female killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 attackers
    Israeli Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 attackers
    Israeli Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISSY029

Incident date

February 19, 2023

Location

كفرسوسة, Kafar Sousa, Hama, Syria

Airwars assessment

At least two civilians were killed and 15 others were injured in alleged Israeli airstrikes or Syrian regime defensive missiles on the neighborhood of Kafar Sousa in Damascus on February 19, 2023. Up to 13 militants were also killed and others were wounded.

Syrian Arab News Agency, a Syrian regime run news source, reported that as a result of Israeli air aggression against Damascus and its vicinity, five people were killed, including a soldier, and 15 civilians were injured, some in critical condition.

A tweet from @SARASALLOUM963 identified recruiter Axem Esper (M) [non-civilian], doctor Asif Mahmoud (M), and Colonel Amjad Ali (M) [non-civilian] as victims killed by Israeli strikes on Kafar Sousa. Damascus voice also identified two of the victims on Facebook: “Axem Ibrahim Esber,” the personal escort of the commander of the Damascus Center for the Baath Brigades, member of the People’s Assembly, and head of the Al-Wathba Club, Dr. Youssef Hassan Al-Salama.

@SAMSyria0 tweeted that Dr. Asif Mahmoud was a doctor of internal medicine and cardiac diseases.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) put the number of casualties at 15 killed and others wounded, without specifying how many civilians were among the toll. The “Voice of the Capital” website quoted by Al Araby stated that the bodies of at least 10 people were recovered from the damaged building. Orient News added that the strikes resulted in the death of six Iranians, including two high-ranking officers, and the injury of others.

According to @SARASALLOUM963, the building in Kafar Sousa that was subject to Israeli airstrikes was evacuated. SOHR referred to the location of the strikes as “an Iranian area and school” which resulted in the destruction of a building while @maarouf_lilian tweeted that the strikes hit “an operations headquarters and a meeting of Iranian leaders”. However, @obretix who geolocated the incident pointed out where the Iranian School is located but added that the school wasn’t the target.

Syria TV specified that the raids hit a headquarters of the “Iranian Revolutionary Guard” militia in the security square area in Kafar Sousa,  located near the headquarters of “Unit 840” of the “Revolutionary Guard”. Al Araby News also quoted the “Voice of the Capital” website which stated that the building struck in Kafar Sousa belongs to businessman Fadel Balawi, owner of the Al-Fadhel Money Transfer Company linked to the Lebanese “Hezbollah.” The car garage and rooms under the building’s floor sustained the most damage.

Shaam News reported that according to some Hebrew language media, the bombing of Kafar Sousa may have been caused by “Syrian surface-to-air missiles, not Israeli missiles” while other sources refer to senior figures who were intentionally targeted in the Israeli strikes in Kafar Sousa.

The incident occured at 00:22:00 local time.

  • Asif Mahmoud Age unknown male killed
  • Youssef Hassan Al-Salama Age unknown killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Strike target
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    15
  • 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 attackers
    Israeli Military, Syrian Regime
  • Suspected targets
    Assad regime, Hezbollah, Iranian military
  • Belligerents reported killed
    2–13
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2

Sources (22) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (29) [ collapse]

  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by SANA)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by SANA)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by SANA)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by SANA)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by SANA)
  • Damascus recently
  • One of the victims of alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SARASALLOUM963)
  • Dr. Asif Mahmoud, a victim of alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SARASALLOUM963)
  • Brigadier General Sharaf Eng. Amjad Ahmed Ali, a victim of alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SARASALLOUM963)
  • Brigadier General Sharaf Eng. Amjad Ahmed Ali, a victim of alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SAMSyria0)
  • Brigadier General Sharaf Eng. Amjad Ahmed Ali, a victim of alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SAMSyria0)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SARASALLOUM963)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SARASALLOUM963)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SARASALLOUM963)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @SARASALLOUM963)
  • Part of the damage to the historic Damascus Citadel after the Israeli attack yesterday.
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus voice via Facebook)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus voice via Facebook)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus voice via Facebook)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus voice via Facebook)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus voice via Facebook)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by Damascus voice via Facebook)
  • Scenes of the extent of the destruction caused by the Israeli bombing of Kafar Souseh neighborhood in #Damascus, Syria
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @maarouf_lilian)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @maarouf_lilian)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @maarouf_lilian)
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @maarouf_lilian)
  • A citizen documents from inside his house the moment an Israeli missile exploded. Lee targeted a residential building in the Kafarsouseh neighborhood of the capital, Damascus, a short while ago.
  • Damage caused by alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and surrounding areas on February 19, 2023. (Image posted by @obretix)

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Strike target
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    15
  • 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 attackers
    Israeli Military, Syrian Regime
  • Suspected targets
    Assad regime, Hezbollah, Iranian military
  • Belligerents reported killed
    2–13
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2

Sources (22) [ collapse]

Published

November 25, 2022

Written by

Megan Karlshoej-Pedersen

Header Image

The signing ceremony for the Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA) on November 18th 2022 in Dublin Castle. Over 80 state delegations such as the UK (pictured) officially endorsed the declaration.

An overview of the actions needed

On Friday November 18th, states and civil society joined together in Dublin Castle to officially endorse the long-awaited international Political Declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA). So far, 82 states have signed onto the declaration; this is a similar number to the initial signatories to other international declarations that have created new norms and standards in warfare, such as the Safe Schools Declaration. Among the signatories to the EWIPA declaration are states such as the US, UK, Netherlands, and Belgium, all of which made sizable contributions to the coalition against ISIS in Iraq and Syria that killed an estimated 8,194–13,249 civilians.

According to Action on Armed Violence, when EWIPAs are used, over 90% of those harmed are civilians. Airwars recently put together a series of maps showing the clear and troubling connection between population density in cities and civilian deaths during urban warfare. Even beyond those who are killed immediately, the reverberating effects are often severe and pervasive, with schools, hospitals, livelihoods, and basic resources like food and water becoming inaccessible for years. This has played out in recent conflicts in cities such as Mosul and Raqqa, in which entire city parts were destroyed and have been made uninhabitable.

The Irish-led, UN backed international declaration is a groundbreaking step towards curbing the use of such weapons. It comes at the back of a decade of civil society focus and pressure on this, led by the INEW network, which Airwars is a part of. As with any political declaration, the results are only as good as the implementation. Below, we outline some of the challenges states must address as they begin the process of implementing the EWIPA declaration.

States must be frank about gaps in their current approach

The first step in understanding how to implement the declaration to limit the use of EWIPAs must be for each state to critically examine current gaps in its own approach and engage in a meaningful process to address these. This in itself might be a stumbling block for some; while states such as the US and the Netherlands have shown increasing willingness to address gaps in their approach to the protection of civilians by working with civil society and experts, others have not.

The UK for instance, still falls behind allies in terms of transparency on evidence collection around civilian harm. Under the declaration, states committed to: “Collect, share, and make publicly available disaggregated data on the direct and indirect effects on civilians and civilian objects of military operations involving the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, where feasible and appropriate”. Despite the UK representative in Dublin noting during the signing ceremony that “the UK already has policies and procedures in place to support the implementation”, this has to date not been evident when it comes to public reporting on the effects of UK military actions.

As it stands, the UK maintains that it has evidence of only a single civilian casualty from its actions in the seven year anti-ISIS campaign, for example, despite extensive military involvement. The US, by comparison, has admitted to over 1,400 civilian casualties as part of the Coalition.  When challenged, UK officials tend to emphasise that they are aware that is not a case of lower civilian casualties than in previous conflicts – but of poor evidence gathering. This position was summarised by former Armed Forces Minister, Mark Lancaster, who emphasised in 2019 that; “[I]t is not our position that there has been only a single civilian casualty as a result of our military action. What we are saying is that we have evidence of only a single, or what we believe to have been a single, civilian casualty.”

In spite of this oft-repeated recognition that the evidence gathering mechanisms of the UK are not able to accurately reflect the reality on the ground, there is, to our knowledge, no process in place to improve this approach and little willingness to engage with civil society to address this. If this is not addressed, there will be a significant gap between the rhetoric of UK leadership when it comes to EWIPA and the reality on the ground.

States must build clarity on who is responsible for implementing the EWIPA declaration on a national level

The second step states must take to implement the EWIPA declaration is to gain better internal understandings of who will be involved in its implementation. This must include those focusing specifically on EWIPA, but also those focusing on topics such as human security, the protection of civilians, humanitarian response, development, diplomacy, and all the other elements required to protect those caught in conflict from being harmed by explosive weapons.The structures behind overseas military engagements are complex, quick changing, and lines of responsibility are often murky. Yet it is only if all involved in such operations, across parliament, ministries of defence, and ministries of foreign affairs and overseas development, are dedicated to limiting the use of EWIPA, understanding their impact, and tracking civilian harm that occurs if they are used, that implementation will be effective.

States must be open to civil society inclusion in the implementation of the EWIPA declaration 

Civil society actors, many of us united under the INEW banner, played a significant role in the development of the EWIPA declaration and the advocacy that brought states to the process, a fact that was acknowledged by a large number of states at the conference in Dublin. We stand ready to support the implementation in national contexts and across international coalitions. Many civil society organisations have spent years – sometimes decades – developing protection mechanisms and civilian harm tracking mechanisms, as well as conducting research into valuable lessons on the impact of EWIPA. Civil society organisations are also often direct links to the communities affected. It is in all of our interests that these resources are effectively shared with those in power.

In those states where there is a history of poor transparency and accountability on civilian harm and civilian harm tracking, governments and their militaries must also commit to a certain level of transparency on the implementation of the EWIPA declaration. They should work with civil society actors to understand the gaps in their current approach and set up milestones for implementation.

Looking forward

The endorsing ceremony was a promising step towards recognising the immense harm that these weapons have caused in recent years – and the harm they will continue to cause as their impact reverberates through communities. If the declaration is implemented well, fewer civilians will be harmed by explosive weapons in their cities, towns, and camps.

Yet there are pitfalls each state must avoid if their implementation of the declaration is to be meaningful. They must be frank about current gaps in their system and must be willing to address them. They must gain an oversight of everyone who will play a role in the effective implementation of EWIPA. And they should work with civil society actors who have resources to share and stand ready to support implementation.

Additional resources:

    Implementation Brief: Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, CIVIC, November 2022 (here) Safeguarding Civilians: A Humanitarian Interpretation of the Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, Human Rights watch and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law school, October 2022 (here) Implementing the Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas: Key Areas and Implementing Actions, INEW and Article 36, November 2022 (here) Over 80 Countries Committed to Curb Use of Explosive Weapons, Now Comes the Hard Part, Bonnie Docherty, Human Rights Watch for Just Security, November 23rd 2022 (here)
▲ The signing ceremony for the Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA) on November 18th 2022 in Dublin Castle. Over 80 state delegations such as the UK (pictured) officially endorsed the declaration.

Mapping urban warfare

This is the latest visualisation in our series ‘mapping urban warfare‘, where we explore how explosive weapons affect civilians in populated areas – in line with a new political declaration restricting their use, signed by over 80 states.

Spotlight on the Gaza Strip

Produced in partnership with the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), the map below explores the 11-day conflict in the Gaza Strip in May 2021. It includes data on civilian fatalities, collected and geolocated by Airwars, together with data on damage to critical water infrastructure – including ground measurement results from the UN Water Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster, satellite imagery, and local social media reporting. We use this as an indicator of the reverberating effects of conflict.

At least 151 civilians were reported killed in May 2021 – while the WASH cluster reported over 1 million civilians were affected by damage to wastewater infrastructure, for example without access to water treatment and sewage systems. Areas with high numbers of civilian casualties also saw significant damage to water infrastructure.

The images, geolocated by CEOBS, capture the outflow of untreated sewage into streets, inland lakes and the Mediterranean Sea. This was further exacerbated by damage to power infrastructure and fuel shortages, which were reported to have halted the operation of the undamaged wastewater treatment plants. Six months after the cessation of hostilities, temporary fixes to provide a minimum service were still incomplete, reportedly owing to a ban on imports of raw materials into the Gaza Strip.

As recently as November 2022, flash flooding was also identified in areas where wastewater infrastructure had been damaged in May 2021.

For detailed joint analysis from Airwars and CEOBS on the interconnected environmental factors relating to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, visit the CEOBS website here.

Static Gaza map showing (i) Green dots : WASH infrastructures either partially or completely destroyed by the conflict escalation. Of the 290 water infrastructure ‘objects’ damaged in the May 2021 escalation, 109 were linked to wastewater (such as wastewater treatment plants and sewage pipes). Data recorded in "Gaza WASH sector damage assessment - June 2021" by WASH Cluster - oPt. (ii) A heatmap of May 2021 civilian casualties based on Airwars data. The area coloured in the darkest red shows Northern Rimal neighbourhood, where the highest number of civilian casualty incidents occurred, cumulating at least 61 civilians likely killed, according to Airwars estimates. For an in-depth analysis of urban strikes, see our previous report "Why did they bomb us? Urban civilian harm in Gaza, Syria, and Israel from explosive weapons use" as well as our interactive map identifying civilian harm events. (iii) An inset imagery to several locations geolocated by CEOBS and satellite imagery of sewage discharges into the Mediterranean Sea by Planet.