Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1933

Incident date

September 20, 2019

Location

ذيبان, Dhiban, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

35.0162094, 40.5101418 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Two civilians were reportedly killed when Coalition forces and special forces from the SDF carried out a landing operation in Dhiban, “targeting a house inhabited by people who are not residents of the town”.

Deir Ezzor reported that “a number of wanted persons were killed and a number of others managed to escape. Others were also arrested” and added that “In addition, two civilians were killed: (Ghiath Latif Al-Fawzi Al-Hafl – Majed Mahmoud Al-Hafl) after they went out to explore what happened.” According to Halab Today TV, the victims were from the same family.

While most sources are unclear about the cause of death, the Syrian Human Rights Committee claimed that the victims were shot by SDF forces.

In their January 2020 civilian casualty report, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that the allegation provided insufficient information on the timing and location of the strike to make a determination.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Adult male killed
Adult male killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Diban (ديبان), for which the coordinates are: 35.0162094, 40.5101418

Summary

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

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
    Insufficient information on the time and location
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFU294817
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 3, 2020
  • September 20, 2019, in Dhiban Town, Syria, via Airwars report. The allegation provided insufficient detail to identify a specific date, time, or location to search for corroborating Coalition action. 2780/CS1933 37SFU294817

Summary

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

Sources (5) [ collapse]