Airwars assessment
Up to 11 civilians including seven children and two women were reported killed, and 16 others including three children and three women – one of whom was pregnant – were injured in an alleged Russian, Iranian forces or Syrian regime shelling with a cluster missile or a rocket carrying cluster bombs on ‘Martyr Abdou al Sheikh Salameh Primary School’ and the surrounding area in Sarmin, Idlib, Syria on January 1st, 2020 according to local sources.
The Smart News Agency said the shelling targeted the school, a nearby kindergarten and a market.
The victims included a teacher and four students, two of whom were IDPs originally from Ma’arat Al Nu’man, as some sources said the school housed IDPs.
Local sources noted that a school and a market were specifically targeted by these air strikes. Al Jazeera released the name of the schools that was struck and damaged as the Salama Abboud School, and Enab Baladi News listed the name as Martyr Abdo Salama school. The names of the victims, both children and adults, were later released and were as follows with children listed first: Hoor Al-Serjawi, Yahya Raed Sarmini, Mohammad Abdel-Fatah Al-Shater, Abdul al-Serjawi, Ali Nazir Muta’b, Child Abdul Qadir Shakol, Abdel Aziz Eid. Adult victims are listed as follows: Abdul Rahman Dibo Aref, Abdul Rahman Dibo Aref’s wife, Muhammad Bassas, Fatima Abdo Ghazal.
Zarman al Waskl News later increased the number of fatalities from six to ten. Civil Defense reported ten dead and twelve wounded, while another local source claimed seven civilians were killed, including three children, two women, and two men. The majority of the dead were from a family of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) who escaped Maarat and fled to Sarmin for safety. A later local source then increased the number of the dead to nine children, while Enab Baladi News said eight killed and fifteen wounded. The director of Civil Defense, Mustafa Hajj Youssef, told Enab Balidi that eight civilians had died, and sixteen civilians were wounded. Conflicting reports emerged as Watan FM Radio and Zaituna News both reported that eight civilians had died, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted that four children and two women were killed, and Ebaa News reported that five children were killed. Smart News released a later reported detailing eight dead civilians and twenty-five wounded, and UNICEF identified the age of the children to be between six and thirteen.
The Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) in Idlib described the attack as a “massacre”, and posted: “Abdelkader’s mother sent her child to school to learn, despite the inherent dangers because she wanted him to have an education. Today [Jan 1st] regime forces killed Abdelkader, four of his friends, and two of his teachers, after they targeted their school in Sarmin City in Idlib with cluster bombs.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) expected the death toll to rise since ten of the injured including the pregnant woman were left in a critical condition.
@john_marquee geolocated the remains of the Tochka missile used in the strikes.
While some sources said the attack was launched from the Mediterranean, referring to the Russian forces, others said it was launched from Sinjar area in Idlib where the Syrian regime army operates. However, Nors for Studies said it was likely initiated by the Iranian forces from Aleppo’s southern countryside.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (61) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (46) [ collapse]
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SCD volunteer rescuing a civilian after the shelling on a school in Sermin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via Horrya Press).
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SCD volunteers rescuing casualties of the shelling on Sarmin in Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via SCD).
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SCD volunteers rescuing casualties of the shelling on Sarmin in Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via SCD).
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A civilian injured in the alleged Russian, Iranian or Syrian regime shelling on Sarmin in Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via SCD).
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An image of the school that was targeted with the shelling on Sarmin in Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via MMC).
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Images of the missile used in the shelling on a school in Idlib Jan 1st, 2020 (via MMC)
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Images of the missile used in the shelling on a school in Idlib Jan 1st, 2020 (via MMC)
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A van affected by the shelling that took place on a school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via MMC).
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Images of the missile used in the shelling on a school in Idlib Jan 1st, 2020 (via MMC)
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Civilians reported injured and killed in the shelling on a school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (MMC)
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Images of the missile used in the shelling on a school in Idlib Jan 1st, 2020 (via MMC)
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Images showing the school that was targeted with shelling in Sarmin (via MMC)
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Civilians reported injured and killed in the shelling on a school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (MMC) -
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Hoor Serjawi was reported killed in the alleged Russian, Iranian or Syrian regime shelling on Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020. (via MMC) -
Mother of Abdelakder, a child killed in the attack, is paying farewell to her son (via SCD).
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Aftermath of the shelling on a school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020. (via IdlibPlus)
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Civilians including children reported killed and injured on the shelling on a school in Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via IdlibPlus).
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Aftermath of the alleged Russian, Iranian or Syrian regime shelling on a school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020. (via IdlibPlus)
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Images of the missile allegedly used in shelling the school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020. (via IdlibPlus)
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Images of the school building allegedly targeted with a Russian or Iranian missile (via EMC)
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A child killed in the shelling on the school in Sarmin, Idlib (via EMC) -
Aftermath of the alleged Russian, Iranian or Syrian regime shelling on a school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020. ( (via EMC)
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Images of the missile used in the shelling on a school in Idlib Jan 1st, 2020. (via EMC)
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Aftermath of the attack on the school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via EMC)
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Van directly affected by the shelling of the school and its surrounding in Sarmin in Idli. (via EMC)
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Images of the missile used in the shelling on a school in Idlib Jan 1st, 2020. (via EMC)
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Aftermath of the alleged Russian, Iranian or Syrian regime shelling on a school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020. (via EMC)
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SCD Rescuing civilians including children killed and injured in the shelling on the school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020. (via @ShahbaPress)
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Abdulkader was reported killed in the attack on a school in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via @abuhuzaifa)
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AbdulQader's mother paying farewell to her child who got killed in the attack on the school (via @abuhuzaifa).
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A child killed in the attack (copyright Smart, published in the public interest). -
Civilians reported killed and injured in the shelling on the school. (copyright Smart, published in the public interest)
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The school targeted in the shelling (copyright Smart, published in the public interest) -
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Civilians killed and injured in the attack (copyright Smart, published in the public interest) -
Victims of the alleged Russian, Iranian or Syrian regime shelling on a school and its surrounding in Sarmin, Idlib on Jan 1st, 2020 (via SN4HR)
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Image of the targeted school (via SOHR)
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Geolocation of the airstrikes by @john_marquee
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"Hoor Al-Serjawi", a child killed in strikes on Sarmin on January 1, 2020. (Image posted by @fatina_sam98) -
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The child Ali Nazir Miteb, another martyr in the Sarmin massacre, bringing the number of martyrs to 9. (Image posted byNabil Shiar via Facebook)