Russian Military in Syria

Russian Military in Syria

A Russian combat aircraft at Khmeimim airbase in Syria being prepared for action. (Russian Ministry of Defence)

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Incident Code

RS1484

Incident date

October 20, 2016

Location

‏التمانعه‬, al Tama, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.458501, 36.747808 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Two children died when a cluster bomb exploded in Al Tama village, Idlib, local sources reported – though it was unclear which belligerent had dropped the bomb.

According to LCCSY, two children, both aged 13, “were martyred and three other civilians wounded were reported when remnants of a cluster bomb dropped by Russian warplanes exploded in Tama”.

Russia; @RadioAlKul also blamed Russia.

Many sources didn’t identify who had dropped the cluster bombs. According to Halab Today on October 21st, “regime and Russian planes have intensified their raids on the cities and towns of Idlib province during the last 24 hours”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Muhammad Adnan Suleiman
13 years old male named by LCCSY killed
Amjad Ali
13 years old named by LCCSY killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • 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 (11) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

On 20th October 2016, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation reported on the decisions made aimed towards stabilising the situation in Aleppo.

""Today, strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Force are finished at 10:00 (MSK) in the area of Aleppo. Early termination of the airstrikes is essential for holding a “humanitarian pause” on October 20, 2016”, said General of the Army Sergei Shoigu. According to him, it will allow to guarantee security of civilians leaving the city through 6 humanitarian corridors and to prepare casualty and medical evacuation from the eastern part of Aleppo.
“We apply to the leadership of countries influencing on armed formations active in the eastern part of Aleppo with a proposal to convince their leaders to stop warfare and leave the city,” stated the Minister of Defence.
According to General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, by the start of the “humanitarian pause” the Syrian troops will have been withdrawn to the distance safe for insurgents to leave the city with weapons through two special corridors: one – along the Kastello road, second – in the area of Suk al-Hai market."

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • 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 (11) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1542

Incident date

November 8, 2016

Location

حزرما, Hazrama, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.51718, 36.48874 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least two children were killed and others were wounded in multiple airstrikes launched against the town of Hazrama in Eastern Ghouta, according to local media. A graphic image of two dead children in body bags was published by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

Reports were conflicted over who was responsible for the airstrikes. Sources such as @kansam881 and Local Coordination Committees of Syria attributed blame to Russian warplanes, while the Syrian Network for Human Rights and Al Jazeera pointed to Syrian regime warplanes.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Safa Hameed Kareem
Child named by Syrian Network for Human Rights killed
Abdul Hameed Kareem
Child named by Syrian Network for Human Rights killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 children)
  • 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 attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (12) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The bodies of two children killed in an alleged Russian and Syrian regime raid on Hazrama, 8th November 2016. (via SN4HR)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any specific strikes between November 1st – 30th 2016.

On 6 January 2017, Russia, however, reported: “Since November 8, 2016, the aircraft carrier group of the Northern Fleet consisting of the heavy aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, the large ASW ship Severomorsk, as well as auxiliary vessels of the Black Sea Fleet, has been fulfilling counterterrorist missions on the territory of Syria”, adding that ”in the course of two months of their participation in the combat actions, naval aviation pilots have carried out 420 combat sorties, 117 of them were night ones”.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 children)
  • 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 attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (12) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1868

Incident date

January 28, 2017

Location

حماده عمر, Hamada Omar, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

35.025374, 37.423313 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

An unspecified number of civilians were killed and up to seven more were wounded by alleged Russian airstrikes on the village of Hamada Omar, Hama, local media reported.

Smart News reported that: “a number of civilians were killed and wounded, earlier in the day [Jan 28th], in raids by aircrafts likely to be Russian (…)”.

7al News, who did not report any fatalities, reported that seven civilians were left injured.

All the sources – who identified a culprit – pointed to Russia.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–7
  • 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

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

Russia has not reported any strikes for January 28th, 2017.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–7
  • 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

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3577

Incident date

January 20, 2019

Location

بكسريا, Baksriya, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.866414, 36.213093 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Alleged Russian airstrikes struck the villages of Khan al Sabil and Baksriya in the countryside of Jisr al Shughour on January 20th, 2018, according to local media.

Around 3 AM, an alleged strike hit Baksriya and killed two civilians; one man and a woman.

Between two and nine civilians were reported wounded and were evacuated by the Syrian Civil Defense teams. One local source alleged that most of the wounded were children, but did not mention a specific number.

The incident occured at approximately 3:00 am local time.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (1 woman1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–9
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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 (30) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Destructed buildings of alleged Russian airstrike that targeted Baksriya (via LCCsy).
  • Destructed building in Baksriya caused by an alleged Russian airstrike (via JMC).
  • Destructed building in Baksriya caused by an alleged Russian (via Jisir TV).
  • Firefighters in the Syrian Civil Defense extinguished a fire in Baksriya caused by an alleged Russian airstrike (via @SyriaCivilDefense).
  • Destructed building in Baksriya caused by an alleged Russian airsrike(via @SyrianCoalition).

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (1 woman1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–9
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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 (30) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1936

Incident date

March 2, 2017

Location

السخنة, Sokhna, Homs, Syria

Geolocation

34.8848748, 38.8711739 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One source, the Smart News Agency, reported that an unspecified number of civilians were killed and wounded in an airstrike on Sokhna. Smart said that a convoy was struck.

@youthvoiceSSS reported that “a convoy belonging to Daesh” was struck by the regime – but made no mention of civilian harm.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

Russia has not reported any strikes between March 1st - 31st 2017.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS2008

Incident date

March 22, 2017

Location

كفرحوت, Kafr Hout, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

35.890795, 37.410102 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to two civilians were reported killed and others injured in an airstrike on Kafr Hout, Southern Aleppo, according to local sources – though it was unclear whether Russia or Assad’s regime were responsible for the attack.

According to Step News Agency, “the Russian warplanes targeted the village of Kfar Hout with three air strikes, killing one person and injuring several others.”

The death toll was corroborated by Syrian Mirror News, who added that it was “an aerial bombardment of space rockets”. However, it also noted that “the regime targeted the southern Aleppo countryside with artillery shells, killing and injuring civilians, while Russian aircraft continued to raid the countryside itself.”

Qasioun News, however, placed the death toll at two civilians and attributed responsibility for the attack to Russian forces.

One civilian was injured in the burning of a gas station, according to a video by Smart News Agency.

The correspondent for Syria News Desk confirmed this and reported that “a civilian was killed and others were injured after the Russian warplanes targeted a fuel shop in the village of Kfarhout, under the control of the Islamic State, in the southern Aleppo countryside.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • 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 attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Translation: the civil defence tended to a person after he was injured as a result an airstrike on Kafr Hout village.

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between March 1st – 31st 2017.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • 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 attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS2018

Incident date

March 23, 2017

Location

ادلب, Idlib City, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.9266201, 36.6180588 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Several civilians were killed and several more were wounded as airstrikes, allegedly carried out by Russia or the Syrian regime, struck Idlib Electricity Company in the centre of Idlib city, local sources reported.

What was described as “heavy air raids” by @shahed_alep reportedly killed up to two civilians and wounded as many as four. @News_truth_ reported that the two victims were “young people”.

One adult male victim was identified by name by the Violations Documentation Centre.

The electricity company was in large part rendered destroyed and put out of service after the strikes.

While the large majority of the sources agreed that Russia carried out the three air strikes, Baladi News’ reporting suggested that the regime was responsible.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Sobhi Jamal
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–4
  • 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 (1) [ collapse]

  • Russian or Assad-waged airstrikes allegedly targeted Idlib Electricity Company in centre of Idlib city, partially damaging its building and burning a warehouse and rendering it inoperable, March 23, 2017 (via SN4HR)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

Russia has not reported any strikes between March 1st - 31st 2017.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–4
  • 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

RS2040

Incident date

March 29, 2017

Location

الحمبوشية بداما, Al Hamboushiya/Badama, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.811903, 36.202275 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between one and two civilians were killed and at least 14 others were injured in alleged Russian airstrikes against the village of Al Hamboushiya and the town of Badama in the western part of Jisr al Shoughour, local media reported. Most sources reported the death toll as two civilians while only the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated the death toll to only be one.

According to Jisr al Shoughour Media Centre, the air raids struck both towns and the roads that link them together. The consensus among local news sources, including the Local Coordination Committee of Syria and @EdlibEMC, was that Russian planes were responsible fo carrying out the airstrikes.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Yasser Qasmo
Adult From al Akrad mountain in the northern Lattakia countryside killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • Civilians reported injured
    14
  • 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

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • Civilians reported injured
    14
  • 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

Sources (8) [ collapse]