Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS3328

Incident date

March 22, 2018

Location

عربين, Arbin, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.538143, 36.364331 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

47 people, among which 17 women, including three pregnant women, and 17 children, were killed by airstrikes on a shelter in the city of Arbin, Eastern Ghouta, in the night of March 22nd, 2018. Conflicting reports blamed both Russia and the Syrian regime for the attack.

@N_workMediaHoms tweeted that warplanes dropped more than 30 barrels of explosives on Arbin.

Shaam Network said reporting from the Syrian Civil Defense that “Russian raids containing napalm targeted a shelter in the city of Arbin, and killed more than 37 people mostly women and children in a massacre against humanity. Since the middle of the night, more than 30 air strikes, most of them carrying phosphorous and cluster bomb attacks, have been carried out in the city of Duma since the middle of the night. Civil Defense teams have responded to the shelling.”

The Violations Documentation Center and Unified Information Office in Arbin published the names of in total 50 victims, mainly women and children, who died in the airstrikes that took place in the evening of March 22nd.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “at least 44, the number of martyrs who were documented by the SOHR in the massacre carried out by warplanes on Thursday the 22nd of March 2018,. The casualties are 17 children and 13 women including 3 pregnant women, and 14 men, most of them are from one family, and they were all killed in a massacre in Arbin city carried out by airstrikes on the 22nd of March 2018.”

@Omar_Madaniah tweeted that “whole families are now burning in Eastern Ghouta, charred and burned bodies of children and women after Russian raids on a shelter in the city of Abrin with napalm and phosphorus rockets.”

@SiegeWatch reported that “at least 37 civilians died when incendiary weapons fired by pro-government forces hit their shelter.” In another post, SiegeWatch stated that “at least 47 people were killed, 15 were buried in rubble, the rest burned.” They also said the attack happened at times when the city is supposedly under a ceasefire agreement. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the victims died due to burning or suffocation.

@aboalhodaalhoms tweeted saying that “massive massacres happened in Arbin due to the targeting of basements inhabited by the people, with rockets loaded with internationally prohibited napalm.”

Also @waelwanne reported the use of Napalm saying that civilians were directly targeted and that Russia, Iran and the regime are responsible. @HadiAlabdallah  said the scenes are too graphic to be posted on media.

According to Hassan Jarkas, the young woman Huda Al Raz, who was nine months pregnant, was killed alongside her husband Moataz Shahou. According to the SOHR, two other killed victims were also pregnant.

JisrTV reported 20 wounded. Horrya wrote that 50 civilians had been wounded. According to @SiegeWatch, survivors pulled from the wreckage had “horrific injuries, but only minimal treatment options available for them due to prior destruction of the hospital in targeted attacks.” According to Shaam News Network, the Syrian Civil Defence’s 101st Center teams tried to evacuate the victims from the site.

Al Jazeera reported that “the shelling killed 37 civilians, most of them women and children, according to preliminary data, adding that civilians could not get out of the shelters because of the intensity of airstrikes by the regime and Russia in the area.”

Horrya news said that “Dozens of civilians, including children and women, were killed and others were injured on Friday in airstrikes with incendiary napalm bombs by Russian aggression planes on one of the shelters of the city of Irbin in Eastern Ghouta.”

Multiple sources reported the use of napalm. Anapress and Shaam News Network also claimed white phosphorus was used in the attack.

Whereas some sources, such as Horrya and the SOHR, blamed Russia, others blamed the Syrian regime or both Russia and the Syrian regime for the airstrikes.

The incident occured during the night.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Adult female killed

Family members (4)

Adult female mother of Kinan, Ragda and Yaman Shahoud killed
Child female killed

Family members (3)

Adult male husband of Iman Kouka killed
Adult female wife of Omar Shahoud killed
3 years old female daughter of Omar Shahoud and Iman Kouka killed

Family members (2)

Adult male husband of Kawthar Al Hallak killed
Adult female wife of Mohammed Shahoud killed

Family members (5)

8 years old female killed
6 years old male killed
4 years old female killed
0 years old female killed

Family members (3)

Adult female mother of Safa and Rawea Shahoud killed
25 years old female killed
23 years old female killed

Family members (2)

Adult male husband of Huda Al Rez killed
Adult female pregnant wife of Moetaz Shahoud, nine months pregnant killed

Family members (5)

Adult male pregnant father of Loay, Rahaf and Moayyad Shahoud killed
Adult female mother of Loay, Rahaf and Moayyad Shahoud killed
7 years old male killed
5 years old male killed
0 years old male killed

Family members (2)

Family members (6)

Adult female killed
12 years old male son of Marwa Shahoud killed
14 years old male son of Marwa Shahoud killed
11 years old female daughter of Marwa Shahoud killed
4 years old female daughter of Marwa Shahoud killed
Adult female pregnant killed

Family members (2)

Adult female pregnant Mother of Fayez Shahoud killed
4 years old male killed

Family members (2)

Adult female sister of Nada Hadoul killed
Adult female sister of Nour Hadoul killed

Family members (2)

Family members (3)

The victims were named as:

Child female killed
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    44 – 47
  • (17 children17 women16 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    20–50
  • Causes of injury / death
    Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN), Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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 (42) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (23) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The aftermath of airstrikes, 22nd March 2018. (via Shaam News Network)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @SiegeWatch).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @SiegeWatch).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @SiegeWatch).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @SiegeWatch).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @SiegeWatch).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @SiegeWatch).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @SiegeWatch).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @SiegeWatch).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @LoveLiberty).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Photo of victims of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @LoveLiberty).
  • Aftermath of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @JinaShashaah).
  • Aftermath of the airstrikes on Erbeen, March 23rd 2018 (via @AFPar).
  • Photo of the direct aftermath of the airstrikes on Irbeen, March 22nd 2018 (via Anapress).
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    44 – 47
  • (17 children17 women16 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    20–50
  • Causes of injury / death
    Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN), Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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 (42) [ collapse]