More raids on the capital of “Al-Khair State” cause more civilian casualties, the killer bomber is switched between the Russians and the Coalition

Deir Ezzor Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: warplanes continue its daily airstrikes targeting Al-Mayadeen city, which is considered the capital of “Al-Kheir State”, located in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. The SOHR learned that warplanes, most likely Russian, targeted at 6:00 am today, the 24th of July 2017, a house near Al-Arba’een Street in Al-Mayadeen city, causing the death of 4 civilians and the injury of others, with various degrees of severity. The death toll is likely to rise because some of the injured are in a critical condition. In addition, a man, his son and daughter lost their lives in shelling by warplanes, believed to be Russian, that targeted Al-Shmitiyyeh, located in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor. It should be noted that Al-Mayadeen city and other areas in Deir Ezzor countryside is witnessing a significant decline in the International Coalition strikes, only for the Russian warplanes to assume its role targeting the area on a daily basis, causing material and human losses each time. This comes as part of the continued escalation by warplanes on Al-Mayadeen and Deir Ezzor Province since the 22nd of May 2017.

The SOHR observed on the 22nd of May 2017 the start of an intensive shelling by the International Coalition on Al-Mayadeen city, perpetrating massacres that left hundreds of martyrs and injured in addition to the escalated killings by the warplanes of Bashar Al-Assad regime and the Russian jets during the same period of time, from May 22 to July 22 of this year. The SOHR observed recently that the role of killing and carrying out airstrikes has been handed over by the International Coalition to the Russian who have been sending their jets almost on a daily basis to shell the eastern and western countryside of Deir Ezzor, causing casualties. This coincided with the entry of the regime forces into the administrative borders of the Province and the proximity of the operations taking place in most of the areas of Al-Raqqah and Homs to the borders of Deir Ezzor Province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 255 people in Al-Mayadeen city in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor since the beginning of the escalation on the 22nd of May. Such casualties include 93 children and 80 women. Specifically, 59 civilians, including 25 children below the age of 18 and 23 women above the age of 18, were killed in shelling by the International Coalition on the city. In addition, 42 prisoners were killed by the airstrikes of the International Coalition on the house of Abu Abdullah al-Nuaimi, a former leader in Al-Nusra Front (Al-Qaeda organization in the Levant), who was executed earlier by the “Islamic State”, and whose house was seized and turned into a prison affiliated with ISIS Security Apparatus. The prison was divided into two main parts, one for holding civilians and the other for prisoners that belong to ISIS. Moreover, 154 members of the families ISIS members, including 68 children and 57 women, were killed in airstrikes on Al-Dahmoush building near the government Complex, known as Al-Saraya and on Al-Shaker cafe in al-Mayadeen city in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. The 4-storey building was mostly inhabited by families of members of the organization, of Syrian and Moroccan nationalities.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also documented the death of 61 persons, including 9 children and 8 women due to shelling by warplanes affiliated with the international coalition on areas in Al-Bukamal, Beqres, Abu al-Neitel, Al-Quriyah, Al-Basira, Jadid Ekydat, Al-Sabha and several other areas in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, in addition to several others who have been seriously injured. In addition, the SOHR documented the death of 84 civilians, including 33 children below the age of 18 and 16 women above the age of 18, following airstrikes carried out by the Russian and the regime’s warplanes on areas in Deir Ezzor city and other areas in the eastern and western countryside of the city.