Between 52 and 96 civilians including three women and one child were killed and more than 200 injured in Russian airstrikes on Maarat al Numan, according to multiple sources.
The Shaam News Network initially reported that more than 20 civilians were killed and dozens wounded (mostly women and children) when Russian warplanes struck different districts of the city with “highly explosive missiles“, targeting civilian homes, a popular market place and the Justice Palace. The death toll climbed in subsequent reports, finally reaching over 90 with more than 200 wounded “thronging field hospitals in the region“. They stated that body parts were scattered all over the area.
Activists told SNN that Russian aircraft also targeted a courthouse and prison belonging to the Al-Nusra Front, resulting in massive destruction and the deaths of all who were at the site or around it.
They said that the majority of those killed were prisoners who were being held on multiple charges including belonging to the FSA. A medical source added that masked members of the Al-Nusra Front raided a field hospital in the region to arrest some of the injured.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also blamed a Russian bombardment. An initial report put the death toll at 39 people “including rebels, prisoners and civilians, while dozens of others were wounded and seriously wounded.”
But two other reports said more people had died, with the figure finally rising to 81, including 52 civilian citizens and prisoners (including three women and a child), 23 fighters from Jabhat Al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in the Levant) and six fighters from other rebel and Islamic factions.
According to the Syrian Observatory, Russia used four missiles on the Administrative Court of Jabhat Al-Nusra which included a prison, in addition to targeting areas in the vicinity of Maarat al Numan. As a consequence it said the death toll was even higher, but that this could not be documented because “of extreme secrecy by concerned parties in the area“.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights published four early reports which blamed the Assad regime. But a detailed fifth report eventually said Russian warplanes were responsible, and that 67 people had died, including three women.
The White Helmets – which needed two days to clear the site – said the final death toll was 96.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
