Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1586

Incident date

October 5, 2017

Location

Al Mayadin, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

35.027572, 40.460243 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One person died in an aerial offensive that targeted the river crossing in al Mayadeen, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

News of the civilian casualty came amid numerous reports of Russian actions in the area, @m_eelwahed described “Russian raids” with phosphorous which led to the outbreak of fires in several neighbourhoods of the city. Moreover, Baladi and Syrian PC both reported a Russian Ministry of Defence announcement that “the city of Mayadeen was targeted with ten Caliber [cruise] missiles from the Mediterranean to support the advance of the regimes forces in the region.” The announcement alleged that the“missiles targeted the headquarters and warehouses of weapons and ammunition belonging to ISIS in Mayadin.”

According to Syrian PC, the announcement came “after dozens of air raids by Russian aircraft targeted the city of Mayadeen and its surroundings since dawn on Thursday, without knowing the damage caused by them until the moment of preparation of the news.”

No allegations were made against the US-led Coalition, with the Russians likely to be culpable.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a river crossing in the city of Al Mayadin (ميادين), for which the coordinates are: 35.027572, 40.460243. Satellite imagery available to Airwars from between Sep. 27, 2017 and Oct. 15, 2017, and from Sep. 9, 2017 and Oct. 19, 2017 show structural damage to multiple buildings South of the crossing

  • Before (Sep. 9, 2017) and after (Nov. 2, 2017) images of the struck buildings

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Google

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, Russian Military

Sources (5) [ collapse]

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near al Mayadin, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 28, 2018
  • After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For October 4th – 5th the Coalition reported •Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed four vehicles and a VBIED. Awaiting For October 5th-6th the Coalition reported that “Near Abu Kamal, one strike destroyed an ISIS weapons cache.” And that “Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two IEDs and a logistics node.” And also that “On Oct. 5, near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, one strike engaged a fighting position.”

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, Russian Military

Sources (5) [ collapse]