Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

R3853

Incident date

August 26, 2019

Location

كفرنبل, Kafar Nabil, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.6155094, 36.5471898 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to five civilians died and others were wounded in an alleged Russian or regime air or artillery strike on Kafar Nabil, local media reported on August 26, 2019.

Smart reported: “The media activist in the city Baha Sweden said that Russian aircraft launched missile strikes on residential neighborhoods coinciding with artillery and rocket shelling by Syrian regime forces, killing one civilian and injuring others.” @baladinetwork also reported that one civilian was killed and @AyhamSteif identified a person killed as being burned and showed the burned body in a video.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, “Walid Abdul Hamid al Hmoud, from Ma’ar Tmater village in the southern suburbs of Idlib governorate, was killed as fixed- wing warplanes fired missiles on Kafranbel city in the southern suburbs of Idlib governorate, on August 26.”

@Step_Agency and Baladi reported that five dead bodies were recovered from the scene. Abdullah Abde posted on Facebook that one of the civilians recovered from the rubble was from  Al-Lataminah.

A tweet by @NEDAAPOST identified “great material damage, a victim and a number of injuries” as the consequences of the airstrikes.

Images posted by @AyhamSteif  show the smoke clouds caused by airstrikes against Kafar Nabil. A video posted by @EyadHoms20 shows the moment the shells struck. A post by Abdullah Abde on Facebook identified both airstrikes and artillery as striking the town.

Sources were split between attributing the strikes to Russia and/or regime. Baladi News blamed the airstrikes on Russia while @FSLA2011 identified Russian and the regime as the actors responsible. A tweet by @EyadHoms20 also attributed the strikes to regime forces only.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Adult male killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Kafar Nabil (كفرنبل), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.6155094, 36.5471898. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 5
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]

  • Image posted by @AyhamSteif showing the airstrikes on Kafar Nabil on August 26, 2019.
  • Image posted by @AyhamSteif showing the airstrikes on Kafar Nabil on August 26, 2019.
  • Caption translation: Intense Russian and Syrian air strikes targeting the city of Kafr Nabl, south of Idlib. The actor of Russian and Syrian warplanes (Image posted by @FSLA2011)
  • Caption translation: # Witness: The effects of the Russian bombing that hit the city of "Kafranbel" in the southern countryside of Idlib, which led to great material damage, a victim and a number of injuries. (Image posted by @NEDAAPOST)
  • Caption translation: # Witness: The effects of the Russian bombing that hit the city of "Kafranbel" in the southern countryside of Idlib, which led to great material damage, a victim and a number of injuries. (Image posted by @NEDAAPOST)
  • Caption translation: # Witness: The effects of the Russian bombing that hit the city of "Kafranbel" in the southern countryside of Idlib, which led to great material damage, a victim and a number of injuries. (Image posted by @NEDAAPOST)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • Caption translation: A civilian was killed and others were injured on Monday, August 26, 2019, when Russian warplanes bombed the city of Kafranbel near Idlib in northern Syria. The media activist in the city Baha Sweden, said that Russian aircraft launched missile strikes on residential neighborhoods coinciding with the artillery and rocket shelling of the Syrian regime forces, killing one civilian and injuring others, in addition to the outbreak of fires and destruction in houses and property. Since late April, regime forces and Russia have launched a massive aerial bombing campaign on Hama (Images from Smart)
  • Caption translation: A civilian was killed and others were injured on Monday, August 26, 2019, when Russian warplanes bombed the city of Kafranbel near Idlib in northern Syria. The media activist in the city Baha Sweden, said that Russian aircraft launched missile strikes on residential neighborhoods coinciding with the artillery and rocket shelling of the Syrian regime forces, killing one civilian and injuring others, in addition to the outbreak of fires and destruction in houses and property. Since late April, regime forces and Russia have launched a massive aerial bombing campaign on Hama (Images from Smart)
  • Caption translation: A civilian was killed and others were injured on Monday, August 26, 2019, when Russian warplanes bombed the city of Kafranbel near Idlib in northern Syria. The media activist in the city Baha Sweden, said that Russian aircraft launched missile strikes on residential neighborhoods coinciding with the artillery and rocket shelling of the Syrian regime forces, killing one civilian and injuring others, in addition to the outbreak of fires and destruction in houses and property. Since late April, regime forces and Russia have launched a massive aerial bombing campaign on Hama (Images from Smart)

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 and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 5
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (19) [ collapse]