Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS4348

Incident date

January 22, 2020

Location

معردبسة, Ma’ardibsa, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

One civilian reportedly died and two more – a woman and a child – were wounded in an alleged regime or Russian air or artillery strikes on Ma’ardibsa on January 22nd 2020. @yahya_kadaa reported however, that the death toll was nine.

Local Coordination Committees if Syria reported: “At 15:46 a regime’s MiG-23 warplane raid targeted the village of Ma`rdbasa. This resulted in the death of Satouf ali al-Hashoum and the injury of a woman and a child.

The Shaam News Network noted that both Russian and regime warplanes “launched dozens of airstrikes” across cities and towns in Idlib, including Ma’ardibsa.

The incident occured at 15:56:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Satouf ali al-Hashoum
Age unknown killed

Summary

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

Sources (14) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • A photo of Satouf Ibn Ali al-Hashum, allegedly killed by Russian or Syrian regime forces on January 22nd 2020 (Maârdebsa Town / Facebook)
  • A photo of Satouf Ibn Ali al-Hashum, allegedly killed by Russian or Syrian regime forces on January 22nd 2020 (Sn4hr / Facebook)
  • A photo of Satouf Ibn Ali al-Hashum, allegedly killed by Russian or Syrian regime forces on January 22nd 2020 (Ma'aebsa Baladi / Facebook)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian 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 and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (14) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS4190

Incident date

November 21, 2019

Location

معرة النعمان, Maarat Numan, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

Three civilians, including two children, were reported killed and a number of others were wounded by a mortar or a cluster bomb from the remnants of previous strikes by Russian Forces or the Syrian regime forces on Ma’arat Al Numan in Idlib, on November 21st, 2019, according to local sources.

A tweet from @oulaalassaad named three of the people killed: Alaa Karkas 14, Muhammad Karkas 12, Mustafa Karkas 25.

@alhariri58 added that in addition to the three people killed, a number of other civilians were injured in the explosion and @Nabel_othman023 referred to “many” injured without specifying how many.

While Macro Media Center (MMC) blamed the Syrian regime by saying the casulaties were caused “after a mortar shell from the remnants of the previous shelling of al-Assad forces exploded in Maaret al-Nu’man city south of Idlib”, ShahbaPress pointed to the Russian forces saying civilians were killed “when a cluster bomb exploded from the remnants of Russian raids on the city of Maarat al-Numan in rural area Idlib”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Alaa Karkas
14 years old killed
Muhammad Karkas
12 years old killed
Mustafa Karkas
25 years old killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (2 children1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • White Helmets respond to an explosion that killed three people in Maarat al-Numan on November 21, 2019. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense)
  • Damage from an explosion that killed three people in Maarat al-Numan on November 21, 2019. (Image posted by @SyrianCoalition)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian 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
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (2 children1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Incident Code

YS072

Incident date

November 19, 2019

Location

أعزاز, Azaz, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.586736, 37.042624 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Street level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian was reported killed and between seven and 15 others including two children injured in an alleged YPG artillery attack on Azaz in Aleppo governorate, Syria on November 19th, 2019, according to local sources.

The civilian killed was identified as Muhammad Mustafa Amouri, aged 30 and he died shortly after he was moved to hospital. According to @Gaber11518504, Muhammad’s two brothers were killed before and he was the only remaining son for his family.

According to Al Modon, six katyusha rockets landed on a al-Jawalat Street in the middle of the popular market, at times when it was crowded causing a big number of casualties.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Muhammad Mustafa Amouri محمد مصطفى عموري
30 years old male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7–15
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    YPG

Sources (26) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (22) [ collapse]

  • Syrian child injured in an alleged YPG attack in Azaz - Aleppo was moved to a Turkish hospital (via Qasioun)
  • Aftermath of an YPG alleged attack on Azaz in Aleppo. (via Qasioun)
  • Aftermath of an YPG alleged attack on Azaz in Aleppo. (via Qasioun)
  • Aftermath of an alleged YPG attack on Azaz - Aleppo (via AMC)
  • Alleged YPG attack on Azaz - Nov 19th, 2019 (via STEP)
  • Alleged YPG attack on Azaz - Nov 19th, 2019 (via STEP)
  • Alleged YPG attack on Azaz - Nov 19th, 2019 (via STEP)
  • One civilian killed in an alleged YPG attack on Azaz - Nov 19th, 2019 (via STEP)
  • A child injured in an alleged YPG attack on Azaz in Aleppo - Nov 19th, 2019 (via AMC)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention Al Jawalat (الجوالات) street, within the city of Azaz (اعزاز), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.586736 37.042624. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"type":"Feature","properties":{"stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1,"stroke-opacity":1},"geometry":{"type":"LineString","coordinates":[[37.04297751188278,36.58773310965431],[37.04284608364105,36.58742944206568],[37.04271465539932,36.587061162748725],[37.04252153635025,36.586520585831856],[37.04242497682571,36.586124303934064],[37.04217553138733,36.58547603405187]]}}]}

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
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7–15
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    YPG

Sources (26) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS4142

Incident date

November 6, 2019

Location

معرة النعمان, Ma’aret Al Nu’man, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.6477913, 36.6591881 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian was killed and three others were wounded after an unexploded cluster bomb of an alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrike was detonated in Ma’aret Al Nu’man, Idlib governorate, on November 6th, 2019.

Justice Organization identified the victim as Omar Al Bassas.

A tweet from @NagiNajjar reported “the death of the young man, “Omar Al-Bassas,” and the wounding of “Shadi Bassas,” “Ahmed Bassas,” “Ismail Bassas,” from the city of Maarat al-Nu`man, after a missile detonated from the remnants of a previous bombing by the warplanes on the city.”

It is unclear when the original airstrike took place.

Sources were contested as to who was responsible for the bombing of the cluster bomb that later exploded, with Almarra.today posting on Facebook that Russia was responsible while Rami Almaree posted that the regime was to blame.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (4)

Omar Al Bassas عمر البصاص
Adult male killed
Shady Al-Bassas شادي البصاص
injured
Ahmad Al-Basas احمد البصاص
injured
Ismail Al-Bassas اسماعيل البصاص
injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (6) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Omar Al Bassas was killed when a cluster bomb from a previous alleged Russian or Syrian regime air raid detonated on November 6th, 2019 (via Justice organization on Facebook).

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian 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 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (6) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS4114

Incident date

October 23, 2019

Location

معرة النعمان, Ma’arat Al Nu’man, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

One civilian was killed on October 20th 2019 by fragments from an unexploded cluster bomb, that was dropped earlier by alleged Russian and/or Syrian regime warplanes in the city of Ma’aret Al Numan, as reported by several local sources. It is unclear when the bomb was dropped.

Mostafa Abo Abdo said that the explosion took place in front of the victim’s house.

Justice Organisation identified the man as Najm Deeb Al Asfar (Abu Diab) and stated on Facebook that the incident occurred in the southern neighbourhood of the city. The victim was reported injured initially but was later said that he had died.

The Syrian Network of Human Rights commented on the incident by stating on Facebook that they have previously highlighted that remnants of weapons pose a threat to civilians and that special equipment is needed to help civilians remove explosive remnants.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Najm Deeb Al Asfar (Abu Diab) نجم ديب الأصفر
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The body of Najm Deeb Al Asfar, who was killed in an explosion of remnants of a cluster bomb on October 20th, 2019, that was left earlier in an alleged Russian and/or Syrian regime airstrike on Ma’arat Al Nu’man (via Justice Organisation on Facebook).
  • Photo of Najm Deeb Al Asfar, who was killed in an explosion of remnants of a cluster bomb on October 20th, 2019, that was left earlier in an alleged Russian and/or Syrian regime airstrike on Ma’arat Al Nu’man (via SNHR on Facebook).

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian 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 and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS4103

Incident date

September 13, 2019

Location

بانص, Banes, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

35.97697, 36.9748 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least one civilian was injured on September 13, 2019 after the explosion of a cluster bomb that was allegedly dropped by Russian or regime warplanes on the village of Banes, Aleppo governorate, according to local sources.

A tweet from @SyriaCivilDefe reported “A civilian was injured due to the detonation of a cluster bomb remnants of previous bombing, on the village of Banas, south of Aleppo, and the medical source classified his condition as critical.” The image accompanying the tweet shows someone being loaded into an ambulance.

@ZaitunAgency posted that “A young man was critically injured by the explosion of a cluster bomb remnants of the Assad forces’ shelling on the village of Banas in the southern countryside of Aleppo.”

All sources refer to one one civilian as being injured except for @so_ria98, which references “civilians.”

Sources did not identify when the cluster munition was originally dropped and most did not identify who was responsible for the bomb. However, @ZaitunAgency attributed the original shelling to the regime while @so_ria98 blamed Russian forces.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Caption translation: A civilian was injured due to the detonation of a cluster bomb remnants of previous bombing, on the village of Banas, south of Aleppo, and the medical source classified his condition as critical. (Image posted by @SyriaCivilDefe)

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
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3968

Incident date

July 27, 2019

Location

خان شيخون, Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

A man was killed in the explosion of unexploded ordnance from a previous alleged Russian airstrike on Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib governorate, on July 27th, 2019. It is unclear when the airstrike took place.

Smart News Agency claimed that an unknown number of people was killed in a cluster bomb explosion which was allegedly left from a Russian airstrike on Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib. The source did not report a date for the incident but published the information on July 27th.

@mohamadsalomala reported “the martyrdom of the young man (Muhammad Najeeb Al Sarmani) after he was hit by a cluster bomb from the remnants of the bombing in the area of #Bosalia, south of the city of Khan Sheikhoun.”

The Local Council of Khan Sheikhoun City was the only source reporting that the man was “hit by the bombing of the warplanes with cluster missiles”, implicating that the man directly died as the result of an airstrike.

Smart News Agency pointed to Russia as the responsible belligerent. The other three sources did not identify which belligerent had released the unexploded ordnance.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Muhammad Najeeb Al Sarmani محمد نجيب السرماني
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Muhammad Najeeb Al Sarmani was killed in the explosion of cluster bomb remnants in Khan Sheikhoun on July 27th, 2019 (via Local Council of Khan Sheikhoun City).

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3959

Incident date

July 25, 2019

Location

اليعقوبية, Al Yakoubiya, Idlib , Syria

Airwars assessment

Armin Yaqoub Khalilo, a man from the Christian community, died in the village of Al Yaqoubia in Idlib, on July 25th, 2019, due to the explosion of cluster bomb remnants from an alleged previous Russian or Syrian regime bombing.

According to various local sources such as Shaam News Network, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and a Syrian journalist named Khalid Al Homsey, the Assad regime was responsible for this attack, which was an explosion of a cluster bomb that was a remnant of an earlier bombing by the Assad regime.

However, Justice Organization reported that the killing of Armin Yacoub Khalilo in the village of Yakoubiya, west the rural Idlib, was due to an explosion of a cluster bomb that exploded on his land from the remnants of the bombing of Russian warplanes and the Assad air forces. According to Al Hamama Village Everyday, the bombing had targeted the village of Al Qunya and its surroundings.

The incident occured around midday.

The victims were named as:

Armin Yacoub Khalilo آرمين يعقوب خليلو
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Remnants of the bombing that targeted the village of Al Qunya and its surroundings on the July 25th, 2019 (via Shaam News Network).
  • The aftermath of the cluster bomb explosion that killed civilian Armin Yakoub Khalilo in Al Yaqoubia on July 25th, 2019 (via Al Hamama Village Everyday on Facebook).
  • The remnants of the cluster bomb in Al Yakoubiya town on July 25th, 2019 (via Al Hamama Village Everyday on Facebook).

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian 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 and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (9) [ collapse]