On January 11th 2020, regime airstrikes on Binnish in Syria’s Idlib province killed at least seven and injured a further 37. Among the dead were four women and three children.
In total, at least 18 civilians were killed in airstrikes across the province on Friday and many more were left with serious injuries.
Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) records casualties (i.e. people killed and injured) from explosive violence around the world as reported in English-language news sources.
Whilst Syria remained the country worst impacted by explosive weapons last year, casualties decreased by about one quarter, compared to the previous year; with 9,587 civilian casualties recorded in 2018 to 7,268 last year.
However, the US withdrawal in October and subsequent Turkish offensive sparked a rise in casualties over the last few months of the year. Having seen civilian casualties decrease to 145 in September 2019, October and November saw over 750 civilian casualties per month, while December fell to 617. Civilian casualties from Russian and regime airstrikes also increased over this period.
The rise in civilian casualties from airstrikes looks as if it may continue into 2020.
AOAV condemns the use of violence against civilians and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. AOAV encourages all armed actors to stop using explosive weapons with wide-area affects where there is likely to be a high concentration of civilians.
Did you find this story interesting? Please support AOAV's work and donate.
Donate