Six to seven civilians, including up to five children and one to two women were reportedly killed in Syrian regime or Syrian Democratic Forces rocket attacks in on Rajo Street, in the city centre of Afrin, Aleppo, on January 20th 2022  during the daytime.

From 16 to 35 people were reportedly wounded. Among them were between five and ten children and three and seven women. Rajo Street was described by Syrian Network for Human Rights as “a bustling, vibrant and crowded thoroughfare”  and that the street was “severely damaged.”

Those that were reportedly killed were identified as Johnny Adnan Mansour, aged 16, Muhammad Ibrahim, aged 14, and Muhammad Nashaat Ibrahim from Afrin. Three young children from Maarat al-Numan and the same family were also killed: Samira Ibrahim Alwan, Fatima Muhammad Alwan, aged nine, Muhammad Ibrahim Alwan.

According to @Almohrar1, among those that were injured were: Mustafa Sweidan, Heaven Sido, a baby girl, Salam Alwan, a girl, Ahmed Al-Nimr, Dolovan Nebo, aged 13,  Amina Yousef Khadija, aged 45, Abdullah Ahmad Kurdiyah, aged 41, Ahmed Al-Ahmad, aged 38, Ahmed Abdullah Kurdiyeh, aged 28, Ibrahim Hussein al-Sharif, aged 53, Ferdous Fakhri Sheikh, aged 50, Nour Qassas, aged 23, Qamar Hourani, aged 30, Reda Najjar, aged 42, Qubtan al-Jabal, Mukhtar Al-Omar, aged 15, Farid Waheed Hajji, aged 50, Muhammad Khalil Daiyoush, Ahmed Zwain, Muhammad Yasser, Mahmoud Al-Mohammed.

Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that they had “so far been unable to confirm the attackers’ identity, though we believe that it was carried out either by Syrian regime forces or Syrian Democratic Forces, as the bombardment originated from an area under the joint control of both parties.”

The Turkish Ministry of Defence blamed the attack on the PKK/YPG: the “PKK/YPG has once again shown its true face and targeted innocent civilians by carrying out a missile attack on Afrin city centre on the anniversary of Operation Olive Branch, which ensured peace and stability in northern Syria.”

Initially, the death toll was said to be three or four people by local sources such as Step News, although this was expected to rise due to those that were injured.

According to SCD, the bombing hit a school in the city and destroyed part of its wall, but there were no students inside at the time of the attack. SCD were among other local news outlets describing this incident as a “massacre.”