Atarib market massacre

UN investigation

On 6th March 2018, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic published a report on the attack, saying it was carried out by the Russian Air Force and may constitute a war crime.

According to the Commission’s report, “early warning observers monitored the take-off of a fixed-wing aircraft, whose pilots communicated in Russian, from Hemeimeem airbase at 1:37 p.m. and tracked the aircraft going south and then to the northeast all the way to Atarib where it arrived at 2:07 p.m”. The report said the attack "may account to a war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in death and injury to civilians."^[2][4][5]

Human Rights Watch

"Under the laws of war, police and police stations are presumptuously civilian objects unless the police are taking a direct part in the hostilities", Human Rights Watch said.^[1] Eyewitness reports claimed that the entire market, containing 100 shops, was destroyed in the explosions.^[6] They damaged or destroyed an area of approximately 5,000 sq metres. Weapons used were the unguided OFAB-500 fragmentation bomb, and the BETAB-500 unguided bunker buster bomb.^[7]

Two previous attacks had targeted the market on 25 July 2016 (8 dead) and 24 April 2014 (31 dead).

Named victims

As many of 69 of the dead have been named as follows: 1. Rashad Mohammed Abdrrahim, a civilian. 2. Ali Shereqi, a civilian. 3. Omar Ali Rasheed, a civilian. 4. Abdulqader Mohammed Eid al-Badawi, a civilian. 5. Mohammed Khalid Mesto, a civilian. 6. Hussein Mar’ei, a civilian. 7. Abdullah Abdrrahim, a civilian. 8. Omar Abdo Rasheed, a civilian. 9. Yousef as-Saleet, a civilian. 10. Ali Hallaq, a civilian. 11. As’ad Haj Taher, a civilian. 12. Mohammed Ammar Deebo, a civilian. 13. Hazim Khaled Deebo Ibrahim, a civilian. 14. Nasir Haj Mar’ei, a civilian. 15. Mohammed Nasir Hej Mar’ei, a civilian. 16. Mohammed Mahmoud Abian, a civilian. 17. The laboratory physician, Ahmad Omar Isa, a civilian. 18. Abdelazeem Ahmad Jaqoum, a civilian. 19. Aref Jbraeel, a civilian. 20. Yousef Bakrish, a civilian. 21. Hamoudeh Faisal Ibrahim, a civilian. 22. Deebo Abdulqader Deebo, a civilian. 23. Hasan Ibrahim Shweif, a civilian. 24. Ghassan Ayoub, a civilian. 25. Hussam Zreiq, a civilian. 26. Abderrazaq Ali al-Ameer, a civilian. 27. Mohammed Hussein Hijazi, a civilian. 28. Ali Faker Rasheed, a civilian. 29. Nasir Ahmad Hajer, a civilian. 30. Mohammed Sultan, a civilian. 31. Mostafa Ahmad Da’doush, a civilian. 32. Anas Hayed, a civilian. 33. Hasan Khalifa, a civilian. 34. Hussein Qasim, a civilian. 35. Khalloq Hallaq, a civilian. 36. Ahmad Hussein Jablawi, a civilian. 37. Mohammed Nour Hayed, a civilian. 38. Khalid Mearzaf, a civilian. 39. Ammar Hussam Barakat, a civilian. 40. Mostafa Hamdan, a civilian. 41. Redwan Ayoub Haj Hamada, a civilian. 42. Mohammed Munir Saleh, a civilian. 43. Mohammed Abdo Haj Mar’ei, a civilian. 44. Murshid al-Mahrouq, a civilian. 45. Naji Sheikh Ibrahim, a civilian. 46. Ahmad Othman, a civilian. 47. Ahmad Othman’s wife, a woman. 48. Asma Riyad Khalil, a woman. 49. Zanoub Sheikh Abdel hay, a woman. 50. Hiba Othman, a woman from al-Leramon. 51. Rowaida Shawa, a woman. 52. Zahra Hussein Jablawi, a woman from Kefr Nouran town. 53. Moayad Abdo Waheeba, a child,. 54. The daughter of Mohammed Qayes Haj Mar’ei, a child. 55. Ayman Abdo Karbo Zarzor, a handicapped child with polio. 56. Ahmad Saied Ibrahim, a missing child. List of Police Officers Killed in Shelling the Free Police Station Located at the Entrance to the Main Market in Atarib 1. Mohammed Abderrazaq al-Faj, a police officer. 2. Yamen Saeed ash-Shon, a police officer. 3. Hamdo Saeed ash-Shon, a police officer. 4. Omar Mohammed Deeb Shahoud, a police officer. 5. Hussein Sha’alan Abderrazaq, a police officer. 6. Mostafa Mohammed Othman, a police officer. 7. Jbraeel AbdlWahid Jbraeel, a police officer. 8. Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahim, a police officer. 9. Ahmad Abdo Taher, a police officer. 10. Hamdi Ways al-Ali, a police officer. 11. Mohammed Hamdo Hamdo, a police officer. 12. Fadl Mohammed Eid Abdurrahman, a police officer. 13. Basil Mohammed Shahid al-Hussein as-Sawadi.^[8]