Ma'arrat Nu'man market bombing

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Maarrat al-Numan market bombing
Maarrat al-Numan market massacre
Part of Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war
Location of Maarrat al-Numan in Syria
Location 35°38′N36°40′E / 35.633°N 36.667°E / 35.633; 36.667
Maarrat al-Numan, Idlib Governorate, Syria
Date22 July 2019;6 years ago (2019-07-22)
8:00 to 8:30 a.m. [1] (local time)
Target public market, houses
Attack type
 Airstrike
Weapons Aerial bombs
Deaths43 civilians
Injured109
PerpetratorsFlag of the Russian Air Force.svg Russian Air Force
Motiveunknown

The Maarrat al-Numan market bombing or Maarrat al-Numan market massacre was a war crime through an aerial bombardment of a marketplace and the surrounding houses in the Syrian opposition-held town of Ma'arrat al-Numan in the Idlib Governorate of Syria. It was perpetrated on 22 July 2019, [2] [3] [4] from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. local time, during the Syrian Civil War. The bombing killed 43 civilians, including three girls, and injured another 109 people. [1] At least two four-storey residential buildings and 25 shops were destroyed. A nearby school, located some 700 meters from the market, was damaged. [1]

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Later analysis confirmed that the bombing was perpetrated by a fighter aircraft of the Russian Federation. [5] [6] The attack caused even more fatalities when a "double tap" strategy was used, in which a second wave of bombing hit the same target when rescue workers were on the site minutes later, killing them. [7] [8]

It was part of a wider Syrian military campaign against Idlib in 2019.

The United Nations Human Rights Council recorded the crime in its report published on 2 March 2020. It stated the following:

In parts of southern Idlib, including Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, pro-government forces persistently shelled civilian infrastructure in the de-escalation zone, leaving civilians with no choice but to flee. As such, there are reasonable grounds to believe that pro-government forces intended to terrorize civilians, in an effort to depopulate the zone and accelerate its capture. [9]

— United Nations Human Rights Council

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 United Nations Human Rights Council 2020, p. 6.
  2. ↑ Chulov, Martin (23 July 2019). "Russia and Syria step up airstrikes against civilians in Idlib". Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "'Boundless criminality': Dozens killed in Idlib market bombing". Al Jazeera. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "Syria war: Air strikes on town in rebel-held Idlib 'kill 31'". BBC News . 22 July 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  5. ↑ Nebehay, Stephanie (3 March 2020). "Russia May Have Committed War Crimes in Syria – U.N." The Moscow Times . Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Cumming-Bruce, Nick (2 March 2020). "U.N. Panel Says Russia Bombed Syrian Civilian Targets, a War Crime". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Borger, Julian (2 March 2020). "Russia committed war crimes in Syria, finds UN report". Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "As children freeze to death in Syria, aid officials call for major cross-border delivery boost". UN News. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  9. ↑ United Nations Human Rights Council 2020, p. 7.

Reports

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