Airwars assessment
At least two children, two women and one man were reportedly killed, and up to 30 other civilians injured in alleged Russian or Syrian regime forces artillery or airstrikes on Ma’arat Al Nu’man in Idlib in the evening of December 19th, 2019, according to local sources. Two other civilians reportedly died from their injuries caused by the attack on the following day.
The victims have been identified by a number of sources as Ghada Haitham Al-Khumra, who judged on the basis of the photos is not older than one year, her mother Saba Al-Khumra and her father Haitham Mohsen Al-Khumra, alongside the girl’s aunt Ghada Ammar Al-Khumra. Another victim was identified as the orphaned girl Shahed Al Madi, reportedly under 10 years, and Abdullah Al-Homsi Al-Sabha. A day after the incident, local sources reported that two of the injured victims, Basma Al-Khadija and Muhammad Ibn Raif Ramadan, died from their injuries as well.
While most sources, including the Syrian Civil Defense, reported the death of the six civilians mentioned above, @ajmurgent claimed that only five civilians had been killed. Syrianoor reported that eight civilians had been killed, including three children and two women.
According to @aboalhodaalhoms, the attack wounded dozens. Facebook user Habibity ma`arat Alnu`man listed 26 injured civilians including their names. According to Zaman Al-Wasl, the number of injured civilians mounted to up to 30 instead, including 11 women and five children.
The Al-Khumra family died as their house was hit by an alleged Syrian regime surface-to-surface missiles according to a number of sources. Almaaralover reported that “they were pulled out from under the rubble after a heavy bombardment of their house”.
It is unclear whether the attack consisted of artillery and/or airstrikes. According to LCCSy, regime forces stationed in the Khan Sheikhoun area started shelling the town at 18:26. Syrianoor claimed instead that warplanes and helicopters targeted the town with missiles and barrel bombs. Zaman Al-Wasl reported that the belligerents attacked “with more than 170 missiles of different types, including the Russian “Smerch” loaded with cluster bombs”.
@BeyazEllerSYR wrote: “The martyr orphan Shahed Al Madi is a girl under the age of ten who lost her father five years ago. Shahed, the orphan, the martyr, was today a victim of the barrels of hatred in the city of Maarat al-Numan. Shahd was part of the White Hands Association program to sponsor orphans, and today she has risen to her Lord to tell him the whole story.”
The incident occured at 18:26:00 local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (4)
Family members (2)
Family members (2)
Family members (3)
Family members (2)
Family members (4)
Family members (3)
Family members (5)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (37) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Ghada Al Khamra was killed along with her father, mother and aunt in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Ma'arat Al Numan on December 19th, 2019 (via @IdlibPlus). -
A Syrian Civil Defense volunteer carrying a victim in the aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime forces airstrikes on Ma'arat Al Nu'man in Idlib on December 19th, 2019 (via @ala_hacioglu)
-
Syrian Civil Defense volunteers recovering a corpse from the rubble in the aftermath of alleged Russian or Syrian regime forces airstrikes on Ma'arat Al Nu'man in Idlib on December 19th, 2019 (via Syrian Civil Defense)
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
The young girl Shahed Al Madi, one of the victims of the alleged Russian or Syrian regime forces airstrikes on Ma'arat Al Nu'man in Idlib on December 19th, 2019 (via @syrian191124) -
The young girl Shahed Al Madi, one of the victims of the alleged Russian or Syrian regime forces airstrikes on Ma'arat Al Nu'man in Idlib on December 19th, 2019 (via @BeyazEllerSYR)