Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

TS380

Incident date

November 3, 2019

Location

الطريق بين رشيدية و القاسمية, Road between Al Rashidiya and Al Qasimiya village, Al Hassakah, Syria

Geolocation

36.706030, 40.353696 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Street level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One member of Doctors Without Borders was killed and three other civilians including two aged 17 wounded in an alleged Turkish mortar strike on a convoy about four kilometers north of Tal Temr, local sources reported.

Hawar news said: “The invading Turkish state wounded two doctors by firing cannons at Til Temir’s convoy of Doctors Without Borders between Al-Rashidiy and Al-Qasimiyê village. The condition of one of the doctors remains serious.”

Later reports said that one of the victims had died.

Free Burma Rangers issued the following statement:

“We are very sad to announce that Zau Seng, our Kachin cameraman and medic from Burma, was killed today, Nov. 3., by a Free Syrian Army/Turkish Army mortar strike that hit our forward casualty collection point where we were assembled to treat the wounded.

“Last night, Nov. 2, we had rescued three people from this area successfully but this time we were hit very close, about 10 meters from us. Mohammed, our Iraqi translator and coordinator, was also wounded but is in stable condition in the hospital.

“Zau Seng was my brother and hero. He leaves behind a wife, Lunu, and daughter, who celebrated her first birthday today. We pledge to take care of his wife and daughter as much as we can. We believe Zau is with Jesus now, in what the people of Burma call ‘the undiscovered land.’ He has now discovered it.

“I know he’s happy and still laughing, as he was always laughing, but we are sad because the world is emptier without him.”

A second post by Burma Rangers quoted Mohammed, the wounded Iraqi translator. He said:  “Our duty is to remove civilians from the battlefield. We are a human rights organization. When we reached the village of Al-Ezîziyê, we were exposed to bombardment of gangs belonging to the Turkish state. The gangs wanted to pave the way for them to reach Til Temir. We were attacked when we treated the wounded. Despite the Red Cross flag on our vehicle, they continued to attack us. A Thai member lost his life as a result of the attacks.”

The incident occured in the afternoon.

The victims were named as:

37 years old male killed
31 years old male KRC List injured
Luay Sitam Hemid
17 years old male KRC List - Fragments in the left leg injured
Muhannad Jasim Hemid
17 years old male KRC List - Fragments in the left leg injured

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck on the road between the villages of Al Qasimiya (القاسمية) and Al Rashidiya (رشيدية), north of the town of Tal Tamr (تل تمر), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.706030, 40.353696. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

  • Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck on the road between the villages of Al Qasimiya (القاسمية) and Al Rashidiya (رشيدية), north of the town of Tal Tamr (تل تمر).

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 healthcare_personnel)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Turkish Military

Sources (34) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (16) [ collapse]

  • Footage of the alleged Turkish strike on the convoy in Tal Temr, Nov 3rd.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Attempts to save the life Zau Seng, one of the members of the convoy.
  • Mohammed, part of the convoy struck by an alleged Turkish morat in Tal Temr, Nov 3rd (via Free Burma Rangers)
  • Zau Seng (via Free Burma Rangers)
  • Zau Seng (via Free Burma Rangers)
  • Zau Seng with wife Lunu (via Free Burma Rangers)
  • Zau Seng with his daughter (via Free Burma Rangers)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Attempts to save the life of Zau Seng following the alleged Turkish strike on the convoy in Tal Temr, Nov 3rd (via Hawar news)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Attempts to save the life of Zau Seng following the alleged Turkish strike on the convoy in Tal Temr, Nov 3rd (via Hawar news)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Attempts to save the life of Zau Seng following the alleged Turkish strike on the convoy in Tal Temr, Nov 3rd (via Hawar news)
  • KRC list of civilians killed and injured between 09 October and 14 November 2019.

Turkish Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 healthcare_personnel)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Turkish Military

Sources (34) [ collapse]