Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS1615

Incident date

November 17, 2016

Location

كفربطنا, Kafr Batna, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.519286, 36.382427 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A number of civilians were killed and wounded in an airstrike on Kafr Batna, Eastern Ghouta, according to local media – though reports were conflicted as to which belligerent was responsible for the event.

Similar to most other sources reporting on this event, @kafrbatna2011 did not identify the warplanes responsible, they did however report that it was a guided missile: “the warplanes targeted the centre of the city of Kafr Batna by airstrike with a guided missile, resulting in a large number are wounded.”

LCCSY directly attributed responsibility for the event to Russia, stating that there were “13 martyrs in Damascus and its countryside, most of them killed in the Russian raids on Kafr Batna and Saqba.”

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights pointed out that both regime forces and Russian warplanes were operating around Eastern Ghouta that day [17th Nov]. However, they do point towards Russia being responsible for the incident in Kafr Batna: “The regime forces and warplanes shelled areas in the city of Douma in the Eastern Ghouta, which killed two persons including a child, and injured several others. Also the warplanes bombed areas in the city of Saqba and the towns of Hammuriyyeh and Kafr Batna in the Eastern Ghouta, which killed 4 persons and injured others in Saqba.”

Whilst the sources indicate a death toll of between four and 13, none of them attributed a death toll that is specific to the airstrike on Kafr Batna alone.

 

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 13
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (8) [ collapse]

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
    4 – 13
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (8) [ collapse]