Incident Code

R4341

Location

الفوعة, Al Fu'ah, Idlib, Syria

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

Between five and six civilians, including one to four children, were killed and between seven and eight others, including two children, were injured in alleged Russian or regime artillery strikes on the Masbah area nearby al-Fu’ah town on July 15, 2021.

According to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at the time of reporting “the number of civilians killed in regime massacre in Masbah area nearby al-Fu’ah town in north-eastern Idlib jumped to six. Moreover, the death toll is expected to rise further as the bombardment left seven over persons injured, some seriously.” Their earlier reporting identified that five civilians, including one child, were killed and those killed “were workers who were breaking stones”. Shaam News also reported that five civilians, including a child, were killed.

In their report that identified six deaths and eight injuries from the strikes, Enab Baladi specified that all of those involved in the incident were civilians.

@Jon94447934 provided the names of the three children that were killed in the strikes: Hamza Ahmed Walid Sabbagh, Mohamed Khaled Sabbagh, Hussein Khaled Sabbagh.

A post from Khaled Abo Haydar on Facebook added three more names of civilians killed, including a child: Mohamed Khaled Abdel Gawad nicknamed Abu Khaled, Abdo Omar Qahawati  nicknamed Abu Omar, and Child Abdel Rahman Adel Slat.

A tweet from @Najdat567 emphasized that five of the civilians killed were the providers of their families and were doing back-breaking work as stone breakers for just “20 Turks per day” and that those workers were targeted with three shells.

Syrian Network for Human Rights (SN4HR) reported a similar number of civilians killed, six, but added that three of them were children. A post by Syrian Civil Defense also identified eight others as being wounded, including two children, and listed the locations that were shelled as “civilians who cut stones, a swimming pool and a playground”.

SN4HR blamed Russian forces for the casualties, identifying “a shell equipped with a Krasnopol laser guidance system” as being used in the attack. However, SOHR named the regime as being responsible for the shelling. The other sources that reported on the incident, including Syrian Civil Defense and Shaam News, did not distinguish whether Russia or the regime was responsible, blaming both.

Victims

Family members (3)

Child killed

Invidivuals

Adult male killed
Adult male killed
Child male killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Artillery
Strike Status
Contested strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
5–6
1–4 Children, 2 Men
Civilians reported injured
7–8
2 Children

Military Statements

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

Media From Sources (26)