Geolocation
Airwars assessment
One or two civilians including a woman and her child died and an unspecified number more were wounded in an airstrike on Ma’arzita, according to sources on the ground – though it was unclear whether Russia or the Syrian regime were to blame.
Intensive strikes were reported in the area, with sources reporting that both the regime and Russia had carried out actions.
Most reports put the death toll in Ma’arzita at one. Both the Step News Agency and @syriapost1 said that a woman had died.
@HamahNow reported “the martyrdom of a woman and her child from Halfaya in the countryside of Hama following a bombing by military aircraft on Ma’arzita today [Oct 20th]”.
Radio AlKul mentioned the use of “surface missiles” in their reporting of the incident.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Ma’arzita, for which the generic coordinates are: 35.555418, 36.573707. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (11) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
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The exact moment the alleged raid hit Ma'aritza, Oct 20th (via Hasan_Jneed)
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The exact moment the alleged raid hit Ma'aritza, Oct 20th (via Hasan_Jneed)
Russian Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
On 20th October 2016, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation reported on the decisions made aimed towards stabilising the situation in Aleppo.
""Today, strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Force are finished at 10:00 (MSK) in the area of Aleppo. Early termination of the airstrikes is essential for holding a “humanitarian pause” on October 20, 2016”, said General of the Army Sergei Shoigu. According to him, it will allow to guarantee security of civilians leaving the city through 6 humanitarian corridors and to prepare casualty and medical evacuation from the eastern part of Aleppo.
“We apply to the leadership of countries influencing on armed formations active in the eastern part of Aleppo with a proposal to convince their leaders to stop warfare and leave the city,” stated the Minister of Defence.
According to General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, by the start of the “humanitarian pause” the Syrian troops will have been withdrawn to the distance safe for insurgents to leave the city with weapons through two special corridors: one – along the Kastello road, second – in the area of Suk al-Hai market."