Airwars assessment
On January 11th 2020, at least seven civilians were killed and as many as forty wounded by alleged Russian or regime air strikes upon Al Arbaeen Street in Idlib City. Many women and children were among the dead and wounded.
The numbers of dead and wounded varied between sources. Initial local reports stated that seven people were killed and forty wounded, a number that had increased from seven dead and thirteen wounded to seven dead and thirty-seven wounded. France 24 cited the Syrian Observatory in reporting that seven civilians were killed, but Edlib News reported that six people had been killed and thirty-seven wounded. Snap News reported the death of eight civilians, and that was ultimately the highest number, as the Justice Organization also documented eight civilians killed. The names of those killed were released and are as follow here: Omar Abdel-Razzaq Kharbut, Rawan Abdel Qader Serjawi, Brother of Rawan, Sister of Rawan, Young Mansour Nassif Al-Faraj, Maher Al-Hassan displaced from Talmenes, Young Muhammad Adnan Arhim, Omar Khatib displaced from Talmenes.
A Facebook post from IdlibServicesJobsAds added that Mansour Nassif Al-Faraj was from the town of Baftamoun and was a student at the University of Idlib – Faculty of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Inayat Mahmoud Antouz from Qalamoun also died of internal bleeding in the chest after falling from the stairs of her house during the swoop of the plane. The source also added that among the 39 wounded, 10 were children and 9 were women.
Syria Today reported on January 15th that the girl Rawan Abdel Qader Serjawi died in a Turkish hospital due to her injuries after airstrikes on Al Arbaeen street in Idlib city on January 11th, 2020, adding that the girl “joined her brother and sister after they were killed in the same raid”. According to the source, the girl was from the city of Ma’arat Al Numan. Hamya Alalyan also posted on Facebook an image of a man identified as Haji Abdul Qadir Serjawi Abu Marwan, the father of Rawan and her siblings who were killed in the strikes.
Syrian Civil Defense Idlib also reported that the volunteer Mustafa Jabara was injured while responding to the bombing sites in Idlib and and accompanying image shows the volunteer with a cast on his leg.
All local reports stated that the region that was struck was purely a civilian area with no military significance. The Syrian Human Rights Committee reported that residential buildings and a public park were struck and “one of the missiles landed on the edge of the garden, and the other landed near it, among the residential buildings”.
A Human Rights Watch report identified the area struck as the “stadium neighborhood” because of its proximity to the municipal football stadium, which contained about 100 tents for displaced families. They quoted the Syrian Civil Defense, who reported that two munitions hit between 11 and 11:30am, killing eight civilians and wounding 39 others.
Human Rights Watch provided additional details: “Raad Uthman, who runs a small shop about 150 meters from the stadium, said he was standing with his three sons at the entrance of his shop when the first munition struck the road, about eight meters south of his shop, hitting two taxis and a pickup truck. A metal fragment from the munition decapitated Uthman’s oldest son, Muhammad, 21. His younger sons were injured, one with metal fragments in his abdomen and leg, and the other with metal fragments in his foot. Uthman himself suffered minor injuries to his abdomen. The attack also killed two children on the street: a 10-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister [possibly the siblings of Rawan], who was struck in the eye. The contents of Uthman’s shop and car were burned.
“The Idlib lawyer who lives 200 meters from the stadium said that his friend and his friend’s son were standing in the doorway of the residential building just after the boy had returned home from school, when the strike hit. The attack killed the boy, Adnan Lababibi, 15 [possibly the same as Muhammad Adnan Arhim].”
“The second munition struck to the west of Uthman’s shop, next to a four-story residential building, killing a mother and three children inside, blowing out the windows and doors, and damaging the outer walls.”
Sources were conflicted as to who was responsible for the strikes, with Edlib News blaming the regime identifying vacuum missiles as being used while other sources referred to both Russia and the regime as responsible. Various sources referred to MiG/23 warplanes as responsible for the strikes.
The incident occured in the morning.
The victims were named as:
Family members (4)
Family members (4)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (35) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]
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The young girl Rawan Sarjawi was killed in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Idlib city on January 11th, 2020 (via Justice Organisation).
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Blood from the victims of alleged Russian airstrikes on Idlib City on January 11, 2020. (Image posted by @Silaalwafi)
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One of the children injured in alleged Russian airstrikes on Idlib City on January 11, 2020. (Image posted by Justice Organization via Facebook) -
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Image of Haji Abdul Qadir Serjawi Abu Marwan, who was injured and lost three of his children in alleged Russian airstrikes on Idlib City on January 11, 2020. (Image posted by Mahmoud Mohamad Ali) -
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Image of Haji Abdul Qadir Serjawi Abu Marwan, who was injured and lost three of his children in alleged Russian airstrikes on Idlib City on January 11, 2020. (Image posted by Hamya Alalyan) -
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Child of Haji Abdul Qadir Serjawi Abu Marwan, killed in alleged Russian airstrikes on Idlib City on January 11, 2020. (Image posted by Hamya Alalyan) -
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Child of Haji Abdul Qadir Serjawi Abu Marwan, killed in alleged Russian airstrikes on Idlib City on January 11, 2020. (Image posted by Hamya Alalyan) -
the volunteer Mustafa Jabara, who was injured while responding to the inspection of the bombing sites of the warplanes of the Assad forces on the city of Idlib on January 11, 2020. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense)
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Damage caused by alleged Russian airstrikes on Idlib City on January 11, 2020. (Image posted by Syrian Human Rights Committee)
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The young girl Rawan Sarjawi was killed in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on Idlib city on January 11th, 2020 (via Syrian Human Rights Committee).