Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS456

Incident date

January 24, 2016

Location

سلقين, Salqeen, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

36.13951, 36.45413 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between five and 20 civilians died and 10 to 20 were injured – many critically –  in strikes by Ballistic missiles, according to local sources – though reports are conflicted as to whether this was the work of Russia or the Assad regime.

The Syrian Committee for Human Rights reported that 10 people died and 20 more were wounded in a strike by ballistic missiles “believed to have been launched from Russian warships in the Mediterranean“.

A video published by Qasioun depicted casualties being treated following an alleged Russian raid.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 16 people died (“11 fighters from Jabhat Al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Levant) and Islamic factions”), three civilian males and two civilian women, when a suspected ballistic missile landed in the area of a former police station “which is now taken by Jabhat Al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Levant) as a ‘court’ in the city of Salqin at the northwestern countryside of Idlib”. The report added that the missile targeted the area after a meeting in the “court” for reconciliation between al-Nusra Front and the Islamic movement of Ahrar al-Sham. They did not say who fired the weapons, but added that the incident was accompanied by warplanes flying overhead.

Alaan TV said that the “Judges Road” area was targeted on Sunday evening by “long-range shelling with rockets loaded with cluster bombs, resulting in 10 deaths.

A nurse working in the hospital in Salheen gave the following testimony to Alaan: “We received a large number of people who were injured – more than 20, including women and children. Some were transferred to other medical points close. There was an urgent need for blood donors as some cases suffered severe bleeding.

The activist Ahmed Istanbuli indicated that the regime was responsible: “observatories in the town of Saraqeb reported that the source was near the Aazan mountain in the countryside of Aleppo, and the weapons were fired from  regime positions in there. A missile loaded with cluster bombs exploded while another failed to explode after falling in the Sgayn”.

However, the report went on to say that others who heard the sounds of the rockets identified them as Russian and said that they had been fired by warships on the Syrian coast.

The Syrian Press Centre also that this was an attack by the regime, which led to 20 civilians dead and wounded. They named victims including one other unidentified female.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Adult female killed
Adult male killed
Adult male killed
Mohamed Amiri
Age unknown male named by the Syrian Press Centre killed
Yasser Hamadoun Boubaki
Age unknown named by the Syrian Press Centre killed
Dania Marmour
Age unknown named by the Syrian Press Centre killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5 – 20
  • (2 women2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10–20
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Mohammad Hadi Omieri, killed in an alleged Russian and Syrian Regime raid on 24th January 2016. (via, VDC)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Salah Saeed Naffakh, killed in an alleged Russian and Syrian Regime raid on 24th January 2016. (via, VDC)
  • Inside a medical facility in the aftermath of the raid. (via, Syrian Press Centre)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    An injured man following an alleged Russian and Syrian Regime raid. (via, Syrian Press Centre)
  • Inside a medical facility in the aftermath of the raid. (via, Syrian Press Centre)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    An injured man receives medical treatment following an alleged Russian and Syrian Regime raid. (via, Qaision Agency)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

In its military report published on 25th January, the Kremlin said: “In the course of the last three days, January 22-24, aircraft of the Russian aviation group in the Syrian Arab Republic performed 169 combat sorties engaging 484 objects of terrorists’ infrastructure…crews of Tu-22M3 long-range bombers performed 18 combat sorties from the territory of the Russian Federation in order to engage manpower and hardware of the ISIS near Deir ez-Zor on January 22-24. Flight range reached more than 2,000 kilometers.“

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5 – 20
  • (2 women2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10–20
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (7) [ collapse]