(Previous Incident Codes: R4051RS4304)

Seven civilians, including women and children, were injured in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on a popular market place in the city of Ariha, Idlib governorate, on January 15th, 2020, according to local sources. Civilian homes and shops were severely damaged.

@SyrianCoalition tweeted that Russia and the Assad regime did not abide by the declared truce, and they continue to terrorize civilians. Aerial bombing of #Ariha in Idlib outskirts”. SMART News Agency reported that “seven civilians, including children, were injured as a result of raids by the regime’s warplanes on a popular market in the city of Ariha, near Idlib, in the north of the country, on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, which also caused damage to civilian homes and shops”. The Syrian Civil Defence in Idlib also reported seven wounded, and that civilians were being pulled out of the rubble.

@3rj5oPnn2XeKaYg added that “children, elderly, and women” were among the casualties.

According to Ariha Today, the warplanes fired vacuum missiles, writing in another Facebook post that multiple missiles were fired upon the main market of the city at once. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Syrian regime fired missiles near Banat Ariha School, located near the Al Jadid Market in the middle of the city, partially destroying the school’s fence.

@SyrianCoalition blamed both the Syrian regime as well as Russian forces for the incident, whereas Myasar Al Hadidi (@so_ria98) reported that Russian warplanes had been responsible for the airstrikes. Shaam News reported that Russian MiG-23 warplanes struck the market.

These strikes occurred four days after a ceasefire that Russia agreed to.