Up to 50 civilians were reported killed in airstrikes on Ma’aret Al Nu’man, Idlib, on July 22nd. A further 10 to 100 were allegedly injured in the incident.
In December 2019, the New York Times published an investigation into the event, which it said was perpetrated by the Russian Air Force.
While initial sources cited one to two civilians killed in the attack, later sources documented much higher figures as understanding of the events unfolded.
Smart News stated that “the toll of the massacre of the city of Ma’arat al-Nu’man in Idlib killed 39 people and wounded 60”, and Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported “a massacre that left 137 casualties and wounded until now.”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights stated that of those killed, four were children, and four were women.
In a video released by Smart News, the reporter documented “42 civilians killed – 39 of them named and three unknown, and about 80 civilians injured.”
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also documented the death of “two unidentified gunmen” in the incident, stating that the number of people killed “in the biggest massacre since the beginning of the violent escalation at the end of last April” was 38 in total.
Meanwhile, Shaam News reported that “Russian and Assad (Syrian ) warplanes raided and attacked civilians, causing a terrible massacre following the targeting of the popular market in the city of Ma’arat al-Nu’man. More than 30 martyrs, including children and women, and a civilian defense force were killed. In addition, more than 50 were wounded.”
Meanwhile, an early report by Syria Civil Defense stated that “15 civilians, including a civil defense volunteer [Amir Al-Bunni], were killed and 50 others were injured by an indiscriminate attack on civilian houses in the town of Ma’arat al-Nu’man in the village of Idlib this morning, in eight raids by Russian warplanes.”
The highest figure was reported by Zaman Al-Wasl which said that 50 people were killed in this attack. Local sources named 40 fatalities including six children and five women.
Twenty-three sources attributed the attack to Russian forces, while nine others did not positively attribute blame, and two sources named Syria as the belligerent responsible for the airstrikes. Three other sources named both Russia and Syria in reporting the incident.
In December 2019, the New York Times published transcripts of voicelogs which it said proved Russia was responsible for the attack. According to the Times between 23 and 42 people died in four strikes. The first at 8.35am destroyed a building, with a second strike at 8.44am targeting the same location. A nearby building was struck at 8.54am, with an additional building targeted at 8.58am.
A report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria covering the period between July 2019 to January 2020 said that this attack killed at least 43 civilians including three girls and one boy, and injuring at least 109 others including 18 children and 15 women. The report said that “most of the victims suffered severe injuries with some brought to hospital decapitated, badly burned or without limbs.”
According to the report released on March 2nd, 2020, “Consistent with witnesses testimony, early warning reports and flight spotters reports indicated that at least two Russian fixed wing-aircrafts, departed from Hmemim airbase on 22 July at around 8:03 a.m. and circled near the target area at the same time of the attack. The Commission further obtained flight communication intercepts conducted in the Russian language for the period between 07:40 and 09:59 a.m. The communications confirm that, between 8:17 and 8:35 a.m., two Russian aircraft operated in Idlib airspace, and reported on the progress of on-going aerial attacks in Idlib.”
Human Rights Watch published a report in October 2020 highlighting this incident among 46 other incidents in which Russia and/or the regime were involved. “On July 22, 2019, an attack between 8 and 8:30 a.m. damaged a smaller market area about 370 to 400 meters from the main market, with stalls for vegetables and breakfast dishes. Muhammad Hariri, an ambulance driver for the SCD, said he arrived at the site and drove five people to the hospital who had been wounded by another munition that hit a four-story apartment building next to the market. He said that as he was driving back to the market from the hospital, he heard a second explosion. Two SCD volunteers had stayed behind, and one, Mahmoud Zikra, said that eight minutes after the first strike, another hit, collapsing two more three-story buildings, wounding himself and killing his colleague, Amir al-Bunee. Zikra said the second explosion sent metal fragments into his hand and back.”
However, the Russian Ministry of Defence denied any responsibility to this incident. Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy held a briefing for media representatives on July 29th, 2019 and said accusing Russian forces of involvement was part of a a disinformation campaign to discredit Russia’s actions in the Idlib de-escalation zone. He said that the market is easy to find on the map of the Maaret al-Numan city and emphasized that Russian aviation was not used in this area on July 22 and did not fly there. He also claimed that, on July 24th and 26th, Russian drones conducted reconnaissance of the sites and the surrounding area to check the destruction claims and found the area to be intact.
The incident occured between 8:35 am and 8:58 am local time.
