Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

R4423

Incident date

December 2, 2021

Location

سرجة, Sarja, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.5816284, 36.9212293 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least two children were injured in the explosion of a leftover cluster bomb in the town of Sarja on December 2, 2021.

According to @Almohrar1, “two children, Muhammad and Ahmad Hajj Musa, were seriously injured by the explosion of a cluster bomb left over from the bombing of the Russian occupation while they were herding sheep in the town of Sarja”. Zaman Al Wasl mentioned that Muhammad and Ahmad were brothers.

Al Araby News reported that the bombing occurred on a farm, attributing the cluster bomb to both the regime and Russia, and that the two injured children were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Images posted by @SyriaCivilDefe show one of the children being treated by White Helmet volunteers for what appears to be leg injuries.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Child male injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • 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

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    One of the children injured in the explosion of a left over cluster bomb being treated by a White Helmet volunteer on December 2, 2021. (Image posted by @Almohrar1)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    One of the children injured in the explosion of a left over cluster bomb being treated by a White Helmet volunteer on December 2, 2021. (Image posted by @SyriaCivilDefe)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    One of the children injured in the explosion of a left over cluster bomb being treated by a White Helmet volunteer on December 2, 2021. (Image posted by @SyriaCivilDefe)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Sarja (سرجة), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.5816284, 36.9212293. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

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
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • 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

Sources (7) [ collapse]