Up to 13 civilians were reported killed in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Ariha in Idlib, on July 27th, 2019 according to local sources. The airstrikes targeted the western neighborhood and a popular market, and France 24 reported that the airstrikes targeted two residential buildings.
Members of two IDP families from Sinjar and Ma’aret Al-Nu’man were reported killed in the airstrikes. @abdalwhab761 said that the father of one of the families said that he lost 11 members from his family, when asked by a journalist. It is unclear whether they all belong to this incident.
One of the children, Adham badawi, died on July 28th of his injuries sustained as a result of this airstrike.
Zaman Al-Wasl said that the airstrike led to demolishing some houses on the heads of its residents. Syrian Civil Defence said their volunteers pulled bodies of civilians out of the rubble. Local sources expected the real number of victims to be higher as many residents were trapped under the rubble.
Although initial sources cited much lower figures (three), the numbers of those killed rose to nine then thirteen as understanding of the events unfolded – with nine fatalities named by Ariha Today. Of those killed, four to seven were children. A further 22 to 40 were injured in the incident, 22 of whom were named by Ariha Today.
Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that “at least 11 civilians, including seven children and a woman, were killed as Syrian regime warplanes fired several missiles on al Gharbi neighborhood in Ariha city in Idlib governorate southern suburbs, on July 27.”
Ariha Today documented “11 martyrs and more than 30 injuries, mostly children and women, as a result of the airstrike targeting the residential neighborhoods of the city, among the martyrs were displaced people from the area of Sinjar.”
SY-24 raised the death toll to 13, while NPA Syria said that more than 40 others were injured.
Sources accused the Russian forces and/or the Syrian regime in reporting the incident.
Zaman Al-Wasl quoted Walid Aslan, the commander of the civil defense sector in the city of Ariha as saying that ” a warplane belonging to the Assad forces carried out a surprise raid with high explosive missiles this afternoon in the center of Ariha in an area that is considered the most densely populated, which led to the destruction of many homes above the heads of its residents.”
@aboalhodaalhoms tweeted a video commenting “Horrific and cruel scenes from the Ariha massacre today in Idlib countryside, which was committed by the Russian warplanes as if it were a resurrection. New war crimes added to Russia’s criminal record.”
@SyrianCoalition wrote that “there is no justification for international non-action to stop this genocide except the moral fall of the international community.”
The time of the incident is unclear as some sources reported it in the morning, and others in the afternoon.
The incident occured in the morning.
