The Killing of 99 Civilians during 24 Hours in Deir Al Zour
I- Introduction:
Khsham and Al Tabyi Jazeera towns and are located in the eastern suburbs of Deir Al Zour on the right bank of the Euphrates river and are under ISIL’s control.
In this report, we document a massacre that was perpetrated by alleged Russian forces on Al Tabyi Jazeera town on 22 January 2016 and on Khsham town on 23 January 2016.
Even though the Russian forces targets regions under the control of armed opposition groups more than ISIL-controlled lands, they targeted several civilian regions in ISIL controlled regions.
SNHR communicated with several activists and residents and conducted several interviews, where two interviews are depicted in this report. We explained the goal of the interviews to the witnesses and were granted their consent to use the information they provide in this report. We verified the photos and videos we had received, and we kept copies of all the video clips and images used in this report.
Through careful examination of the photo and video evidence, we concluded that the airstrikes have targeted a purely civilian marketplace void of any military or weapons depots neither during nor before the attack.
The information contained in this report represents the minimum of massacres and violations committed by the alleged Russian shelling. Also, it does not include the social, economic, and psychological impact of these violations.
The Russian forces denied all these accusations and stated via its media outlets that they targeted ISIL military headquarters. Also, it is worth noting that the Russian forces accused SNHR of presenting misleading and false information.
