Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS3818

Incident date

June 19, 2019

Location

بنين, Benin, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

In what local sources described as a “massacre”, up to 13 civilians were killed in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019. Multiple sources reported that more than 10 civilians were wounded.

Step News and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that at least seven civilians were killed and that 10 civilians were injured, while other sources such as Smart News Agency reported a higher death toll, claiming that 11 civilians were killed and three civilians were wounded. According to Syria.liveuamap, a total of 12 civilians were killed, including three children, in addition to six injured civilians. Hussin Al Shaw reported 13 fatalities.

@AleppoAMC tweeted: “Seven civilians were killed and others were wounded, with airstrikes on the village of Benin in the southern countryside of Idlib, a short while ago.”

@Sy_Reporter wrote: “Twelve martyrs and a number of wounded as a result of the bombing of the town of Benin in the countryside of Idlib, with high-explosive bombs.” Most sources reported that there were “more than 10 wounded”. @abuhuzaifa_ wrote “dozens” were wounded.

Smart News Agency posted a video of the aftermath of the attack that can be viewed on their website but is not available for distribution.

@mohamadsalomala wrote that the airstrikes took place at 5:38 pm, blaming the Syrian regime. The White Helmets said the strike “targeted shops and a main road in the town” and their teams were available to recover the bodies of those killed and help the injured.

Manahi Al Ahmed wrote on Facebook that Abdel Moneim Subuh Al Quoud was among the victims. Al Quoud reportedly spent more than four years in Syrian regime imprisonment and was released a few months before his death. He reportedly died alongside his nephew Bilal Omar Al Qaoud.

While most sources, such as Smart News Agency and the Local Coordination Committees of Syria reported that the Syrian regime had been responsible for the airstrikes, others, such as Shaam News Network, blamed both the Syrian regime and Russia.

The incident occured at approximately 5:38 pm local time.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7 – 13
  • (1–6 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–24
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (30) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (28) [ collapse]

  • List of names of the victims of airstrikes in Idlib on June 19th (via @IdlibPlus).
  • Syrian Civil Defense forces at the scene after an airstrike struck Benin on June 19th (via Syria.liveuamap).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Scene of the aftermath of an alleged airstrike that struck Benin on June 19th (via @abuhuzaifa_).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Video of the aftermath of an alleged airstrike that struck Benin on June 19th (via @abuhuzaifa_).
  • Pictures of the destroyed bakery after it was struck by an airstrike in Benin on June 19th (via @IdlibPlus).
  • Translation: “Barbaric and indiscriminate bombing on Benin” (via @NagiNajjar).
  • Translation: “Members of the Syrian Civil Defense known as the "White Helmets" remove bodies from the rubble of a building that collapsed after an air strike on the village of Benin in southern Idlib” (via @20fourMedia).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers recovering the bodies of victims after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin, June 19th, 2019 (via @20fourMedia).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers carrying a victim after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin, June 19th, 2019 (via @20fourMedia).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers carrying a victim after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin, June 19th, 2019 (via @20fourMedia).
  • Translation: “A new massacre in the village of Benin in the southern countryside of Idlib, killing 7 martyrs and more than 10 injuries as a preliminary toll among civilians, some of them seriously injured by the warplanes of the Assad gangs” (via @syrian191124).
  • Translation: “Abdel Moneim Subuh Al Quoud, after being arrested for more than 4 years in the prisons of the Assad forces, and after he was released several months ago, he preferred to stay with his family in the liberator, but he was not spared from the planes of the criminal Bashar al-Assad to be the reason for killing him with his nephew Bilal Omar Al Qaoud in the countryside of Idlib, the village of Binin” (via Manahi Al Ahmed).
  • Translation: “Idlib countryside #Binin town 19_6_2019. The death of the young Ahmed Yassin Al Jasem as a result of the air strikes of the criminal warplanes of the Assad regime on the town of Benin” (via Mohammed Al Shami).
  • Rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via @abuhuzaifa_).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers on the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via @abuhuzaifa_).
  • Blood and rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via @abuhuzaifa_).
  • Damaged buildings after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via @IdlibPlus).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers at the scene after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via @IdlibPlus).
  • Damaged buildings after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via @IdlibPlus).
  • Rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via @IdlibPlus).
  • Aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • Damaged building after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • Civilians in the aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • Civilians clearing rubble at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • Men carrying a victim after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The body of a victim after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • A Syrian Civil Defence volunteer at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Benin on June 19th, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7 – 13
  • (1–6 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–24
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (30) [ collapse]