The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

8,622 civilians among nearly 20,000 persons killed by Russian jets since the start of Russia’s military operation in Syria

The Russian forces completed their 53rd month of military operations in Syria. The 4th month of the 5th year came to add more casualties to the series of crimes by Russia against the Syrian people under the pretext of “fighting terrorism”. Russia killed, destroyed and displaced thousands of civilians. It sponsored agreements, then quickly abandoned guarantees it vowed to fulfill. Russia’s firepower, shells and missiles have been deadly and fatal. Russia has Syrian blood on its hands.

Despite its attempt to act as the one coming to lay values of peace and coexistence, to appear as a dove peace, it appeared stained with the blood of the Syrian people, killing thousands of Syrian civilians, displacing millions of them, and pushed tens of thousands other to leave the motherland without coming back. At the time, it tried to show itself as the one that established the stability of a country that has seen nothing in about 8 years -except war but death, murder, displacement, destruction, and clashes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented during the 53rd month of Russia’s military operations in Syria the killing of 130 Syrian civilians including 27 children and 22 women due to Russian airstrikes.

Also 356 fighters of opposition factions and Jihadi groups were killed in Russian airstrikes that targeted their locations in the Syrian coastline and Idlib countryside.

Between the 30th of September 2015 and the 1st of March 2020, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 19,920 persons distributed as follows:

  • 8,622 civilians: 2,097 children under the age of eighteen, 1,311 females over the age of eighteen, 5,214 men and young people
  • 5,244 ISIS members
  • 6,054 fighters of rebel and Islamic Factions, Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamic Turkestani Party, and fighters of Arab and foreign nationalities.

SOHR sources have reported that Russia used the “Thermite” in their airstrikes, a substance composed of aluminum powder and iron oxide which causes burns because it continues to ignite for about 180 seconds, some the bombs used by Russian jets on the Syrian territory were loaded with this substance.

It was founded out that they are “RBK-500 ZAB 2.5 SM” cluster incendiary bombs each weighed about 500 kg (about 1100 pounds) and they were dropped by the military aircraft. They carried anti-individuals and anti-vehicles small sized bombs of the type ((AO 2.5 RTM)), loaded with from 50 to 110 small-sized bombs stuffed with “Thermite”, which outpour out of it when they explode, the range of this anti-individuals and anti-vehicles bombs reaches 20 to 30 meters.