64 Civilians Killed as the City Market was Bombed
I. Introduction
Idlib city has been under the joint control of armed opposition factions and Fateh Al Sham Front since 28 March 2015. It is populated by no less than 170,000 people.
On 24 September 2015, A truce went into effect in the city. The truce was made mainly by Ahrar Al Sham faction, one of the factions that compose Jaish Al Fateh, and the Syrian regime which provided for a full cease of military operations and aerial bombardment in Idlib city and some of the affiliated villages in return of some demands including the passage of aids to Al Fou’a and Kafrya villages which are of a majority that supports the Syrian regime. This truce was breached multiple times where we highlighted the one of the most notable massacres in the report: “Russian Forces Breach UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and Kills Idlib Residents”.
On 11 June 2016, the two parties agreed to extend the truce. Government forces, however, breached the truce again and targeted the vegetables market in the city on the next day, 12 June. which resulted in a massacre that we documented in the report: “The Syrian Regime even Betrays the Local Truces it Makes” .
In this report, we document the targeting of the very same market by fixed-wing warplanes we believe is Russian where SNHR teams contacted a number of the city residents, eyewitnesses, and survivors in addition to local media activists. This report includes three accounts. We have explained the purpose of the interviews to the witnesses who gave us their permission to use the information they provided in this report.
Also, we have reviewed the pictures and videos we received and verified their authenticity. These pictures and videos show the huge destruction that resulted from the bombardment and the many shops and vehicles that were burned in the bombardment. We have copies of all the videos and pictures mentioned in this report.
The investigations included in this report have proven that the targeted areas are civil areas where there were no military centers or weapon warehouses for armed opposition factions or extremist Islamic groups before or during the attack.
This report only represents the bare minimum of the actual magnitude and severity of the violation that occurred. Additionally, the report doesn’t cover the social, economic, and psychological ramifications.
