Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS3874

Incident date

July 7, 2019

Location

قسطون, Qastoun, Hama, Syria

Airwars assessment

Up to twelve civilians including at least six from the same family were reported killed in artillery shelling on Qastoun, Hama, on July 7th.

The family members killed were originally from Al-Badriya village, and were killed while working in the agricultural lands between Qastoun and Badriya.

According to Syrian Network for Human Rights, “at least six civilians from the same family, including two girls and two women, were killed as Syrian regime forces fired artillery shells while they were working on agricultural land between Qastoun village and al Sahen village in Idlib governorate western suburbs, on July 7th.”

ResalaPost and Zamanalwsl  mentioned Russian participation in the attacks on Idlib and Hama on that day. Three sources attributed the attack to the Syrian regime, while one source did not positively attribute blame.

No other information is known at this time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (7)

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7 – 12
  • (2 children3–4 women2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military
  • Suspected targets
    Other, Unknown

Sources (28) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

  • Translation: “The moment the civil defence arrived to recover the victims of the warplane massacre in Qastoun in the Al Ghab Plain, west of Hama” (via @Damaskiagency).
  • Translation: “Six civilians of one family were killed and others were injured as a result of the Assad forces' shelling with rocket launchers on the town of Qastoun in the western Hama countryside. #Syria” (via @ibraheem890).
  • The image of this child was posted accompanied by the news of the killing of at least six civilians from one family in alleged Russian or Syrian regime shelling in Qastoun in Hama on July 7th, 2019. (via @ibraheem890)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Translation: “A horrific massacre in which seven civilians were killed from one family from the village of Al-Badriya in the Idlib countryside, including two women, as a result of missile strikes by gangs of Al-Asadi criminals on the agricultural lands of the town of Qastoun in the Al-Ghab Plain in the western countryside of Hama ... and the number may increase due to the presence of some wounded in a critical condition” (via Abu Ibrahim Ta'ata').

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7 – 12
  • (2 children3–4 women2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military
  • Suspected targets
    Other, Unknown

Sources (28) [ collapse]