Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1786

Incident date

July 27, 2018

Location

السوسة, Outskirts of Al Soussa, Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Geolocation

34.528889, 40.9675 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources reported the death of two or four civilians after missiles struck aid vehicles near the town of Al Soussa.

According to Smart News, Coalition raids struck “three trucks loaded with food”, killing four civilians. The media outlet noted that the four came from “Salba and Mkeymen the eastern suburb of Hama in the center of the country.” It added that the strike occured “as they were leaving the town, and the regime’s media reported that a number of them [civilians] were killed and wounded.”

Baladi News reported instead that two civilians were killed (possibly within the town and therefore a separate event), while adding that others were injured. However, the report stated that the civilians were harmed by “the fire of the regime forces and their artillery”. It said a further two civilians were shot dead by regime forces as they attempted to cross the river.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also noted that “two shells landed on areas in al-Susah town” but did not identify a culprit and stressed that there was “no information about casualties”.

In the first of their September 2020 civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 4
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (4) [ 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
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFU805225
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Sep 9, 2020
  • July 27, 2018, in Al Soussa, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3175/CS1786 37SFU805225

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

The Coalition publicly reported at the time that “On July 27 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of seven engagements against Daesh targets. Near Abu Kamal, six strikes destroyed one Daesh fighting position and damaged three Daesh lines of communication."

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 4
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (4) [ collapse]