Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Between 20 and 40 civilians were reported killed and dozens injured in devastating alleged Russian airstrikes on the village of Bzeina, according to multiple reports. While the destruction of the market and surrounding homes was extensive, the aircraft may have been targeting rebels. Videos filmed at the scene show some casualties and rescuers in military fatigues – with all of those listed as killed adult males.
Activists told Shaam News Network the afternoon bombing targeted the centre of a popular market which was teeming with non-combatants, wounding many and causing widespread damage to the market. They added that the death toll was likely to rise due to the seriousness of injuries.
All4Syria quoted local resident and media activist Adam Shami: “Russian planes today targeted a popular market in the small village of Bzeina in the Marj region. Its entire population doesn’t exceed 500 families, along with some displaced families. But the warplanes have utterly destroyed Bzeina’s small marketplace.”
Smart News cited a local doctor who said medical facilities were overwhelmed by the casualties: “The doctor added that there are cases of amputation among the victims, ‘especially as the market area was crowded with children and women.’”
VDC and Syria 2011 have both reported 20 victims, including seven people they could not identify.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Bzeina (بزينة), for which the generic coordinates are: 33.4825877, 36.4399767. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (13) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
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Victims of a major alleged Russian airstrike on Bzeina December 22nd 2015. (via @AdamsRashidi) -
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Russian Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
For December 18th-23rd, Russia reported that “In the course of five days, on December 18-23, aircraft of the Aerospace Forces in the Syrian Arab Republic have performed 302 combat sorties engaging 1093 objects in the Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Homs and Deir ez-Zor provinces.” No mention was made of Damascus governorate.