Incident Code

RS3023

Location

معرة حرمة, Ma’arat Harma, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.5497387, 36.5422624
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: R2827)

Up to four civilians, including as many as three children, were killed and as many as ten more people were wounded as alleged Russian warplanes struck the town of Ma’arat Harma, Idlib, local media reported.

In this event, described by many as a “massacre”, residential buildings were struck and left in complete rubble with numerous civilians trapped underneath.

The death toll spanned from two to four, the latter reported by Edlib Media Center, who after initially reporting one fatality, later amended that number to four.

Three child victims were identified by name by Local Coordination Committees of Syria and the Syrian Network for Human Rights. Reports generally agreed that two or three of the fatalities were children, hereof two siblings.

However, while the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SN4HR) reported that an eight-year-old girl was killed together with her infant brother, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that three children died, including two brothers. It is therefore unclear whether all of the identified victims were siblings of just the girl and baby boy who shared their last name.

The number of wounded spanned from two to as many as ten.

Finally, all known sources pointed unanimously to Russia as responsible.

Victims

Family members (2)

8 years old female killed
3 months years old male killed

Invidivuals

2 years old killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Civilians reported killed
2–4
2–3 Children
Civilians reported injured
2–10

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Ma’arat Harma (معرة حرمة), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.5497387, 36.5422624. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

Russian Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Russian Military
Russian Military position on incident
Not yet assessed
Russian Military Strike Report
Russia has not reported any strikes between February 1st - 28th 2018.

Media From Sources (9)