Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

R4605

Incident date

October 18, 2023

Location

سرمين, Sermin (Sarmin), Idlib, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

On Wednesday, October 18th, 2023, two women and a man were reportedly injured as a result of the bombardment allegedly perpetrated by Russian military and/or Syrian regime forces on a residential neighborhood in the city of Sermin (Sarmin), east of Idlib, Syria. No further details on the identity of the injured civilians have been reported at the time of writing.

The injuries on the two women were allegedly caused by shrapnel from the bombing. According to Syrian Civil Defense, the man was injured by fractures and bruises as he slipped from the stairs in his house during the bombing. SCD posted a video showing how SCD volunteers accompanied the injured man dressed in a green T-shirt and black trousers to an ambulance, and it is seen that he limped on one leg. As the man’s injury was not directly caused by the bombing, his injury has not been counted in the civilian harm toll.

The Syrian Civil Defense said in a tweet that its teams treated the three injured civilians after the bombing, inspected the areas affected by the bombing, and ensured that there were no other casualties.

Several sources identified the belligerents as Syrian regime forces, while two sources also named the Russian military. In particular, the Syrian Arab Army operations Facebook account wrote: “A number of Russian and Syrian Air Force aircraft are flying in the skies of the Idlib countryside, targeting the locations and movements of armed terrorist organizations in the villages and towns of Sarmin, Jericho, Sheikh Yusuf, and Khafsarja.” Therefore, Airwars has graded both Strike Status and Civilian Harm Status as Contested.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

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
    Accidents related to conflict, 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 (14) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

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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
    Accidents related to conflict, 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 (14) [ collapse]