Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS1549

Incident date

November 9, 2016

Location

مشمشان, Mashmashan, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.859696, 36.367021 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Ten named civilians, including five children and two women, were killed in addition to “dozens” of injuries which included a child, in alleged Russian or Assad regime airstrikes that struck a residential area of Mashmashan village in Jabal al-Wasatani.

The initial death toll was as high as eight civilians, however, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights pointed out that this was expected to rise due to many of those injured being in critical condition. Sources reported that the injured were transferred to Mercy Drakush hospital by the Civil Defence.

According to media Activist Ayman al-Hussein, the airstrikes struck civilian houses and caused the collapse of at least four buildings.

The majority of sources, including Syrian Network for Human Rights and Qasioun News, identified Russian warplanes as responsible for the airstrikes. However, in conflicting posts, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria identified Russian planes as being the culprits in one post and blamed Syrian regime planes in another, in addition to Al Jazeera identifying the regime as being responsible.

An image posted by the Syrian Network for Human Rights showed a severely injured young child who was covered in blood and had his head wrapped in gauze. The Syrian Civil Defence posted a video showing buildings that had been destroyed by the impact and the teams searching for any remaining survivors crushed in the rubble.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Fuda Hassan Issa
35 years old named by SDU Syria killed
Hassah Haj Issa
9 months years old male named by SDU Syria killed

The victims were named as:

Aya Mahal
10 years old named by SDU Syria killed
Nagham Mohammad Al-Asham
Age unknown named by SDU Syria killed
Fuda Nassif Husseinat
60 years old named by SDU Syria killed
Omar Mahmoud
3 years old male named by SDU Syria killed
Zohur Khiro Shahida
23 years old named by SDU Syria killed
Sham Al Hussein
2 years old named by SDU Syria killed
Zaid Mustafa Alloush
3 years old named by SDU Syria killed
Raghda AL Hussein
30 years old named by SDU Syria killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 10
  • (5 children2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • 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 (29) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Members of the White Helmets pull the body of a civilian casualty out of the rubble of a house following an alleged Russian and Syrian regime raid on Mashmashan, 9th November 2016. (via Syrian Civil Defence)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    An injured child awaits medical treatment following an alleged Russian ans Syrian regime raid on Mashmashan, 9th November 2016. (via SN4HR)
  • White Helmets at the scene in the aftermath of the alleged Russian and Syrian regime raid on Mashmashan, 9th November 2016. (via @HadiAlabdallah)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    An injured child receives medical treatment following an alleged Russian ans Syrian regime raid on Mashmashan, 9th November 2016. (via @Wesal_TV )
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    An injured child receives medical treatment following an alleged Russian ans Syrian regime raid on Mashmashan, 9th November 2016. (via @Wesal_TV )

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

Russia has not reported any specific strikes between November 1st – 30th 2016.

On 6 January 2017, Russia, however, reported: “Since November 8, 2016, the aircraft carrier group of the Northern Fleet consisting of the heavy aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, the large ASW ship Severomorsk, as well as auxiliary vessels of the Black Sea Fleet, has been fulfilling counterterrorist missions on the territory of Syria”, adding that ”in the course of two months of their participation in the combat actions, naval aviation pilots have carried out 420 combat sorties, 117 of them were night ones”.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 10
  • (5 children2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • 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 (29) [ collapse]