Incident Code

TS095

Location

عفرين, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.511389, 36.864167
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: T1)

Up to six civilians were reported killed and possibly dozens more wounded in alleged air and artillery strikes by Turkish-backed troops on YPG forces in Afrin, according to local media on the ground.

Al Jazeera reported that “Turkish artillery shelled the positions of the Kurdish People’s Protection and Protection Units in several areas of Afrin. No casualties were reported, according to news agencies close to the Kurdish protection units.”

However, other sources reported civilian casualties. According to Afrin Now, six civilians died in addition to “a fighter from the Popular Protection Units and two from the women’s protection units”. It added that seven further non-combatants were wounded.

Al Arabiya also put the death count at six, though RuMafpage was among some other sources saying that three non-combatants died.

Neveen al Dalati named one victim as Yahya Hamada, seven years-old (aged 9 according to the Red Crescent), a refugee from Idlib. Anha News also named him, but put him at nine-years-old.

According to Afrin Anha, a pro-Kurdish source, “Turkish aircraft bombarded the region of Afrin with dozens of missiles and dozens wounded in the ranks of civilians”. It published an image of a badly wounded child, covered with blood, with the caption “Is this child a terrorist, Erdogan you dog!”

Additionally, the source named the injured civilians [listed below]. It went on to add that “the child Botan Mustapha, who suffers from diabetes, suffered a deteriorating psychological condition which has impacted his health” and that “according to the nursing staff at Afrin Hospital all the civilians are in a precarious condition after being seriously injured in different parts of the body, especially the children Yahia Hamada and Khaled Hamada.”

However, the Shaam News Network claimed that the images published by Afrin Anha and “media sites close to SDF forces in the Afrin area” were not from this incident but “dated to the bombing of the Assad forces in Aleppo in 2016. The pictures were inside Al Quds hospital in the neighborhood of al Sukkari [in Aleppo] at the time.”

Further research by Airwars revealed that the graphic image of the wounded child, which Free Afrin also claimed was from this event, was in fact published by the website stj-sy.com and referred to an casualty incident in Atarib, Aleppo in November 2017.

By way of explanation, Shaam added that “the official media and media allied to the SDF forces is playing on the civilian card to highlight Turkish aircraft and artillery targeting civilian areas. The purpose is to mobilize local and global public opinion for the SDF forces with the start of the military operation in the area Afrin”.

The source Free Anha published a number of pictures of “civilians” being treated in a medical facility. However, caution is also required with these images: the Turkish website Sanalbasin claimed that the people depicted were not civilians but were Kurdish fighters.

Al Bab Coordination committee published a list of the “targets bombed and destroyed by Turkish air force”:

‘Brigade 137

Headquarters of Meng airport

Malikiya checkpoint

Maranaz checkpoint

Shuraga checkpoint

Al Qadi farm HQ

Mount Barsaya

Qibar Artillery positions

Headquarters in the vicinity of Tel Rifaat

Headquarters in the vicinity of Afrin

Ain Dukna headquarters

Headquarters and fighters in the area of Bulbul’

It added that “The Turkish army’s operations room announced that the air force had carried out 112 air raids on positions of the terrorist militias in Afrin and its environs on 2018/1/20”.

Victims

Family members (2)

Yahia Hamada
9 years old male listed as killed elsewhere injured
Khalid Hamada
years old male serious stomache injury injured

Invidivuals

Yahya Hamada
9 years old male named by the Red Cross killed
Kenjo Kenjo
65 years old male head injury injured
Ammar Banj [or al Burj]
25 years old injured
Hamada Muhamed Al Ali
30 years old male injured
Fahd al Ahmad
39 years old injured
Ibrahim Khalil
45 years old male shrapnel in the shoulder injured
Zai’eem Osso
19 years old injured
Ahmad al Ahmad
39 years old male named as injured by the Red Cresent, injury to the leg injured
Sabri Muhammad Muhammad
54 years old named as injured by the Red Cresent, shrapnel wounds injured

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Civilians reported killed
3–6
1 Child
Civilians reported injured
9–24

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Afrin (عفرين), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.511389, 36.864167. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

Turkish Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Turkish Military
Turkish Military position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (23)