Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS3568

Incident date

December 31, 2018

Location

الزعينية, Al Zayniyeh, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.841314, 36.225318 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Civilians were possibly killed or injured in alleged Russian airstrikes on the town of Al Zayniyeh on December 31st, 2018, according to local sources.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights wrote that there were possible casualties in alleged airstrikes after midnight on the former headquarters of factions near the towns of  Mar’and and Al Zayniyeh. The SOHR did not specify whether the possible casualties were civilians or not.

The Local Coordination Committees of Syria tweeted that “two raids were carried out by Russian warplanes on the outskirts of the towns of Al Zayniyeh and Mar’and, west of the city of Jisr Al Shughour in the western Idlib countryside.”

According to Shaam News Network, civilian homes were targeted. While several sources reported on the airstrikes, only SOHR reported possible civilian casualties. Hence, while the strike status of this incident is graded as fair, the civilian harm status remains weak. All sources pointed to Russia as the responsible belligerent.

According to the SOHR, it was the first time since the agreement on a demilitarized zone on September 17th, 2018, between Russia and Turkey that a Russian airstrike took place in the area.

The incident occured after midnight.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (15) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (15) [ collapse]