Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS756

Incident date

April 16, 2016

Location

دير الزور, Deir ez-Zor, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

35.3353632, 40.1380348 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between nine and 17 civilians including one woman and two children died in airstrikes on neighborhoods of Deir Ezzor, according to local sources. While some reports allege that this was the work of Russia, one other blames the Assad regime with yet others not attributing responsibility.

Deir Ezzor is Being Slaughtered Silently reported that Russian warplanes carried out more than a dozen raids focused on “Al Rashida, al Haweqa and al Sina’a neighborhoods but the worst were in Al Hamidiya neighbourhood which was targeted with three raids.” It said that “nine people were killed in addition to five unidentified dead bodies“.

Tweets by Aljmhoria and 3ajel-KSA put the death toll at 13, and said Russia was responsible. Deirfree also blamed Russia and named two victims: Eyad Abdulfattah Abdullah and Abdulr-Rahman Al Akili.

Daretezza said that the 13 victims were “mostly children” –  but did not say who carried out the aerial bombardment.  According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “warplanes” (it did not say who they belonged to) killed 13 non-combatants including one woman and at least two children when they bombed areas in the al-Hamidiyyeh neighborhood.

Likewise, a report by Free Syria did not say who was to blame. Neither did LCCSY, but it named five of the reportedly killed civilians also mentioned by Deir Ezzor is Being Slaughtered Silently (below).

However, the Syrian Network for Human Rights attributed the incident to the regime, putting the death toll at 17 including one woman and two children.

Deir Ezzor is Being Slaughtered Silently named nine male victims (listed below), while a tweet by Tiger9977771, mentioned the same names, but also reported that “there have been bodies of a woman, a male child, a female child and two men (body parts) who could not be identified”.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Hassoun al Hazza’
Age unknown male killed
Fawaz al Fatih
Age unknown male killed
Ahmad Halat
Age unknown male killed
Iyad Abd al Fattah
Age unknown male killed
Hussein al Baja’a
Age unknown male killed
Mohammad al Fattouri
Age unknown male killed
Saleh Zeeb al Marhaj
Age unknown male killed
Abd al Rahman al A’kili
Age unknown male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    9 – 17
  • (2 children1 woman9 men)
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

The Kremlin has issued no public accounts of airstrikes in Syria from April 1st – 30th.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    9 – 17
  • (2 children1 woman9 men)
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]