Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

YS150

Incident date

September 15, 2022

Location

أولشلي, Oleshli, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.468652, 37.632403 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least one civilian, a sheikh at a local mosque, was injured by shrapnel from either heavy machine guns or auto cannon fire in the village of Oleshli on September 15, 2022.

According to the Syrian Civil Defense, a civilian was wounded by heavy machine guns from the areas controlled by the regime forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces in Oleshli. The machine gun fire hit civilian homes and a mosque in the village of Oleshli.

@Rian_almasri tweeted that the “sheikh of Al-Awlashli Mosque was injured by shrapnel in the head while raising the Maghrib call to prayer”. The Syrian Network for Human Rights identified the mosque damaged as the Omar bin al Khattab Mosque.

A tweet from @majdalrfiai identified the weapon used in the attack as a 23-gun explosive device, which the tweet attributed to the SDF, while the Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that the village of Oleshli was hit by an autocannon fired by either the Syrian regime forces or the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Strike target
    Religious Institution
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Small arms and light weapons
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    YPG, Syrian Regime

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Damage caused by alleged Syrian Democratic Forces and/or Syrian regime attacks on the village of Oleshli on September 15, 2022. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Sheikh of Al-Awlashli Mosque was injured by shrapnel in the head while raising the Maghrib call to prayer on September 15, 2022. (Image posted by @Rian_almasri)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the Al-Awashli Mosque (مسجد الأولشلي), within the village of Oleshli (أولشلي), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.468652, 37.632403. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

YPG Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    YPG
  • YPG position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Strike target
    Religious Institution
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Small arms and light weapons
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    YPG, Syrian Regime

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RUK168

Incident date

May 1, 2022

Location

Золочів, Zolochiv, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Geolocation

50.27589, 35.9727 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On May 1st, 2022 at 6 pm, the Russian Federation army allegedly shelled the village of Zolochiv in the Bohodukhiv district of the Kharkiv region, killing one male civilian and damaging buildings in the village.

The head of the village, Viktor Kovalenko, was quoted in reports by Cezke Novy news, Suspilne, Varta and Ukrainska Prada, that the shelling hit a private house killing the 51 year old male resident inside. The ombudsman and the Kharkhiv Human Rights Protection Group reported that 12 residential buildings and some outbuildings were damaged in the shelling. There were discrepancies in reporting on the infrastructure damages. Victor Kovalenko noted that four houses were destroyed and six damaged. Pictures of the village after the artillery attack published in Suspile and Varta (the latter provided by Viktor Kovalenko) corroborate these accounts. Shelling also hit the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church tradition.

The site was inspected by the Bokhodukhiv District Police Department, Kharkhiv Oblast National Police. The pretrial investigation was conducted by the SBU office.

This assessment has reference to UKR56931, UKR56995 and UKR56948.

The incident occured at approximately 6:00 pm local time.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Strike target
    Religious Institution
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • 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 attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Zolochiv May 1st
    Damaged interiors of house in Zolochiv on May 1st published in Suspilne and Varta
  • Damaged house in Zolochiv on May 1st published in Suspilne
  • Damaged structure in Zolochiv on May 1st published in Suspilne
  • Damaged exteriors of a house in Zolochiv on May 1st published in Suspilne
  • Witnesses examining damage to infrastructure in Zolochiv

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Zolochiv (Золочів), for which the generic coordinates are: 50.27589, 35.9727. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Strike target
    Religious Institution
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • 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 attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (4) [ collapse]