Geolocation
Airwars assessment
In what has been described my local media as a “massacre” as many as 20 civilians were killed and up to 35 were wounded, in airstrikes conducted over Ma’ar Shoreen. Nearly all reports of the incident blamed Russia, however one source blamed the Syrian regime making this a contested event.
Many of the dead were women and children. Graphic imagery and footage released shows dead children in the aftermath who were buried alive while asleep.
CCTV footage of the vicinity at the time shows the exact moment the first raid fell at 23:58:29.
Civilians homes were completely destroyed, and one image shows a huge crater where civilian housing once stood. Three high explosive rockets were reportedly used by Step News, accounting for the level of destruction.
According to local media, some of the civilians killed were Internally Displaced Civilians from Hama.
The Syrian Civil Defence reported the wounded were in a serious condition with many of them taken to medial points to receive immediate medial attention.
According to Russia Today, “Russia’s Defence Ministry has denied reports that the Russian air force has targeted a village of Maarshurin in the north of Syria.The ministry said in a statement issued today that “the Russian warplanes did not launch air strikes on the residential centre of Maarshurin in the province of Idlib, Syria.” They added that “Russian space air force planes have not carried out missions in this area”.
One media outlet reported that “eleven people killed from Al al-Shahhad family and from the killed there were families displaced from northern countryside of Hama from (Khatat and Halfaya) towns”.
The incident occured at 23:58:29 local time.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Ma’ar Shoreen (معرشورين), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.667511, 36.727252. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (41) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (47) [ collapse]
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Children who were killed in airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @SyriaCivilDefe) -
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Children who were killed in airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @aboalhodaalhoms) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Children who were killed in airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @aboalhodaalhoms) -
The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @mohamed1aldaher)
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A civilian casualty in the aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @mohamed1aldaher)
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A civilian casualty in the aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @mohamed1aldaher) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
A civilian casualty in the aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @mohamed1aldaher) -
The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @SyriaCivilDefe)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via @JinaShashaah)
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Civil Defence searching for victims in the aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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Civil Defence searching for victims in the aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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Civil Defence searching for victims in the aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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Civil Defence searching for victims in the aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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Civil Defence searching for victims in the aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via RFS Media Office)
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
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The Al-A'araj family, who were killed due to airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Al Latamna youth group)
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Moments after the airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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Moments after the airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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Moments after the airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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Moments after the airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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The aftermath of airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
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Hozaifa al-Taweel, killed in airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via VDC-SY)
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Hozaifa al-Taweel, killed in airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via VDC-SY) -
Moataz Mouayad al-Aaraj, killed in airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via VDC-SY)
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Moataz Mouayad al-Aaraj, killed in airstrikes on Ma'ar Shoreen, 19th December 2017. (via VDC-SY)
Russian Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
The Russian Ministry of Defence announced being active in unspecified parts of Syria until December 11th, 2017.