Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS3927

Incident date

July 21, 2019

Location

أورم الجوز, Urma Al Jouz, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

Up to 12 civilians, including children, were killed and up too 22 others were injured in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, Idlib governorate, on July 21st, 2019, according to local sources.

Horrya News reported that “12 civilians were killed and 22 others were wounded after a warplane launched a raid targeting a mosque and residential homes in the centre of Urma Al Jouz town, west of Idlib governorate”, blaming the Syrian regime for the strikes.

In what was the lowest reported death toll, Local Coordination Committee Syria reported that two people were killed and an unknown number of others, mainly children, were wounded. The source blamed Russian airliners for the attack.

While Smart News Agency initially claimed three civilian deaths, it later reported up to six civilian deaths, including children, and more than 10 wounded. The source added several photographs of the victims after volunteers pulled them from the rubble in addition to a video.

Masr Al Arabiya reported that the main streets of the town, which were crowded with civilians, were targeted, putting the death toll at nine civilians. According to the source, three displaced people from the village of Hamirat were among the victims. Many sources, including @Sy24ria and @ShahbaPress, reported “dozens” of wounded.

Syrian Network for Human Rights also reported that a total of nine civilians were killed, including two children and a woman. The source blamed Syrian regime fixed-wing warplanes and reported that they fired missiles on the Al Eman Mosque in the middle of Urm al Jouz village in Idlib, in what it described as “a massacre”. The source added that another missile struck the entrance of the secondary school in the village.

Both Syrian regime forces and Russian forces were blamed for the attack by Shaam News, who added that they killed a total of 11 civilians.

The Syrian Civil Defence in Hama (@civil_hama) tweeted that “the White Helmets team from the western Hama sector rushed to the place to support the rest of the civil defence teams there, where it worked to recover the martyrs and aid the injured.”

Altall.revolution reported that the 40-year-old man Jaber Al Darwish, also known as Abu Saqr, was among the fatalities. According to the source, he died alongside the orphaned children Samira Ammar Hajj Musa (11) and Muhammad Ammar Haji Musa (9). Another source, Abu Mahfouz Al Ghouta, wrote that Al Darwish died alongside Samira Jaber Al Darwish and Muhammad Jaber Al Darwish. As the latter share the first names of the orphaned children, it is likely, but not confirmed, that they are the same victims.

Sources blamed both Russia and the Syrian regime for the strikes.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Ahmad Al-Faris أحمد الفارس
Adult male killed
Bahaa Ahmad Al-Faris بهاء أحمد الفارس
Child male killed
Maternal aunt of Ahmed Al-Faris خالة احمد الفارس
Adult female killed

Family members (3)

Jaber Mohammed Darwish ( Abu Saqr) جابر محمد الدرويش
40 years old male fled from Al Tal in 2016 killed
Samira Jaber A -Darwish سميرة جابر الدرويش
Age unknown female killed
Muhammad Jaber Al Darwish محمد جابر الدرويش
Age unknown male killed

Family members (2)

Muhammad Ammar Hajj Musa محمد عمار الحاج موسى
9 years old male killed
Samira Ammar Hajj Musa سميرة عمار الحاج موسى
11 years old female killed

The victims were named as:

Khaled Qaddi خالد قدي
Age unknown male killed
Mustafa Muhammad Shehadi مصطفى محمد شحاديمصطفى محمد شحادي
Age unknown male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    8 – 12
  • (3 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7–24
  • 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
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (38) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (58) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Aftermath of alleged Syrian or Russian airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st (via Hadi Al Abddalh).
  • Aftermath of alleged Syrian or Russian airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st (via Step News).
  • Man carrying the body of one of the victims of an alleged Syrian airstrike on Syrian regime fixed- wing warplanes fired missiles on Al Karaj area in the middle of Urm al Jouz village on July 21st (via Syrian Network for Human Rights).
  • Damage to Al Eman Mosque in Urm Al Jouz village after an alleged Syrian missile struck the building on July 21st (via Syrian Network for Human Rights).
  • Damage to the secondary school in Urm Al Jouz village after an alleged Syrian missile struck the entrance of the school on July 21st (via Syrian Network for Human Rights).
  • Translation: “A horrific massacre committed by the war regime's warplanes in the town of Urma Al Jouz in Idlib countryside, which killed 9 people as a first toll and dozens wounded” (via @Sy24ria).
  • Translation: “A horrific massacre committed by the regime's warplanes in the town of Urma Al Jouz, the initial result of which is six martyrs and dozens of wounded, including children” (via @shaamnews).

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Translation: “At least seven were killed and dozens were wounded today, Sunday, in the violent bombing of the Assad regime and its Russian ally on Urma Al Jouz in Idlib” (via @zamanalwsl).
  • Translation: “12 martyrs, including displaced children and women from the countryside of Hama, and dozens of wounded as a result of an air strike targeting civilian homes in the village of Urma Al Jouz in Idlib countryside. The White Helmets team from the western Hama sector rushed to the place to support the rest of the civil defense teams there, where it worked to recover the martyrs and aid the injured” (via @civil_hama).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteer looking for victims after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Civilians at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers looking for victims underneath the rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Civilians at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteer at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Civilians at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Zaman Al Wasl).
  • Damage after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Zaman Al Wasl).

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The body of a child who was killed in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Zaman Al Wasl).
  • A man holding the body of a child after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Zaman Al Wasl).
  • Footage of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via Enab Baladi).
  • Aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via @Sy24ria).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers searching for victims underneath the rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via @Sy24ria).
  • Two men at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via @Sy24ria).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers and civilians at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via @Sy24ria).
  • Aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st, 2019 (via @shaamnews).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers searching underneath the rubble for victims after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st, 2019 (via @shaamnews).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers searching underneath the rubble for victims after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st, 2019 (via @shaamnews).
  • Civilians at the site after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st, 2019 (via @shaamnews).
  • Translation: "The MiG-23 unloads its cargo on the heads of civilians in Urma Al Jouz, leaving damage and dozens of victims" (via Orient News).
  • A Syrian Civil Defence volunteer carrying a presumably injured child after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via @civil_hama).
  • Aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via @civil_hama).
  • A Syrian Civil Defence volunteer carrying a presumably injured child after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via @civil_hama).
  • Translation: “Seven martyrs and a number of injuries as a result of the warplanes targeting the town of Urma Al Jouz in the southern Idlib countryside with an air strike” (via @IdlibPlus).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers searching for victims underneath the rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st 2019 (via @IdlibPlus).
  • One of the victims of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st, 2019 (via Nouri Al Rawwal).

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The body of a victim who was killed of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st, 2019 (via Nouri Al Rawwal).
  • One of the victims of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st, 2019 (via Nouri Al Rawwal).
  • Mustafa Muhammad Shehadi was killed in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Mustafa Zenklo).
  • Mustafa Muhammad Shehadi was killed in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Mustafa Zenklo).
  • Civilians in the aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • A man in the aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • The body of a child trapped underneath the rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The body of a child after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Men looking at the body of a child after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • Civilians and Syrian Civil Defence volunteers carrying the body of a victim after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers in the aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The body of a child after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • A Syrian Civil Defence volunteer in the aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Smart News Agency).
  • A Syrian Civil Defence volunteer carrying a killed or injured baby after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Syrian Civil Defence).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers searching for victims underneath the rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Syrian Civil Defence).
  • Syrian Civil Defence volunteers searching for victims underneath the rubble after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Syrian Civil Defence).
  • Aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz, July 21st, 2019 (via Syrian Civil Defence).
  • Some of the victims of alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Urma Al Jouz on July 21st, 2019: Jaber Al Darwish (40, pictured on the right) with two orphaned children, Samira Ammar Hajj Musa (11, middle) and Muhammad Ammar Haji Musa (9, left) (via Altall.revolution).

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    8 – 12
  • (3 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7–24
  • 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
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (38) [ collapse]