Specific incidents of attacks using incendiary munitions - Eyes on Aleppo

This section provides a summary of incidents identified by the Syrian Archive in analysis of its violation database in which incendiary munitions were used.

The Atlantic Council’s Breaking Aleppo report has already conducted extensive research into the use of incendiary munitions within Aleppo City in 2016. Similarly, Human Rights Watch has identified incendiary attacks in the countryside and suburbs around Aleppo between November 2012 and the end of 2015. A gap in the research exists, namely in investigating incendiary attacks occurring in the Aleppo suburbs in the July - December 2016 period.

Through analysing the type of violations found in video footage, time and date of video upload, identifying specific munitions found in videos, and geolocating video footage within and around Aleppo city, the Syrian Archive was able to identify a total of twenty-four (24) incidents in which incendiary munitions were used. A table describing the date, location, reported civilian casualties, reported civilian injuries, type of munition used, and links to the video footage is provided in the Appendix.

In July, one (1) incident involving incendiary munitions was identified. On the night of 9 July, an incident occurred in Jandoul, Aleppo. For this incident, the Syrian Archive has collected and verified one (1) video. Specific incendiary munition types were unable to be determined.

In August, four (4) incidents involving incendiary munitions were identified. On 7 August an incident in which one person was reported wounded occurred in Al-Mashhad district, Aleppo. While the Syrian Archive was unable to collect and verify any video evidence for this incident, it was able to collect and verify photos, archived on the website. Specific incendiary munition types were unable to be identified.

Two days later on the night of 9 August, an incident involving an incendiary munition occurred in Al-Sheikh Sa’eed district, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one (1) video of this incident. Specific incendiary munition types were unable to be identified.

On the night of 25 August an incident occurred in Kafar Naha, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one (1) video related to this incident, which had previously not been reported in Atlantic Council or OHCHR reports. Specific incendiary munition types were unable to be determined.

On the night of 29 August, an incident in the west countryside of Aleppo occurred. The Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one (1) video related to this incident, which had not been previously reported in Atlantic Council or OHCHR reports. Specific munition types were able to be identified (ZAB-2.5S/M).

The Syrian Archive was able to identify twelve (12) incidents involving incendiary munitions occurring in September 2016. The first incident identified occurred on the night of 2 September in 1070 area, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive collected and verified one (1) video related to this incident. Specific incendiary munition types were unable to be determined.

On the night of 21 September, another incident involving incendiary munitions was used in Aleppo City. The Syrian Archive was unable to determine which neighborhood was attacked. For this incident the Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one (1) video. Specific munitions were not able to be identified.

The following night on 22 September, two incidents involving incendiary munitions were identified. The first occurred in Bustan al-Qasr district, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive has collected and verified two (2) videos related to this incident.The second incident occurred in Kafar Dael, Aleppo. For this incident, the Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one (1) video. Specific incendiary munitions related to these two incidents were not able to be identified.

The next day on 23 September, an incident in which dozens of persons were killed, occurred in Al-Bab road district, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one (1) video related to this incident. Specific munition types were able to be identified (ZAB-2.5S/M).

The next day on 24 September, two incidents involving incendiary munitions occurred. The first, in Al-Salheen district, Aleppo, and the second in Harithan, Aleppo. For each case, the Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one (1) video. Specific munition types were unable to be determined.

The next day on 25 September, four incidents involving incendiary munitions were identified. The first occurred in Al-Mashhad district, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify three (3) videos related to this incident. Specific munition types were also able to be identified, in this case ZAB-2.5S/M. The second occurred in Al-Fardous district, Aleppo. For this, the Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one (1) video. Specific munitions were unable to be identified. The third incident occurred in Bab al-Nayrab district, Aleppo. For this incident, the Syrian Archive able to collect and verify three (3) videos. It is possible that ZAB-2.5S/M munition were involved in this incident. The fourth incident, which had not been previously reported by the Atlantic Council or OHCHR, occurred at night in Hayyan, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify one video related to this incident. Specific munitions were unable to be determined.

On 20 September an incident occurred in Al-Sha’ar district, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive was able to collect and verify four videos related to this incident. Specific munitions were also able to be identified (ZAB-2.5S/M)

In October 2016, two incidents involving incendiary munitions were identified. The first occurred during the night of 1 October in Al-Sakhour district, Aleppo. For this, the Syrian Archive has collected and verified one (1) video. The second occurred in Al-Qaterji district, Aleppo. For this, the Syrian Archive has collected and verified one (1) video. Specific incendiary munitions were unable to be determined for either incident.

In November, the Syrian Archive identified five (5) incidents involving incendiary munitions, none of which have been previously reported by OHCHR or the Atlantic Council. The first incident occurred on the night of 6 November in khan Tourman Aleppo. On the night of 11 November, another incident occurred in Darat Izzah, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive has collected and verified one (1) video for each of these two incidents.

On the night of 12 November, two incidents involving incendiary munitions have been identified. The first, in Maret Artiq, Aleppo, and the second in Al Qasemyeh, Aleppo. The Syrian Archive has collected and verified one (1) video for each of these incidents.

Two days later on the night of 14 November, an incident in Bashqatin, Aleppo involving incendiary munitions was identified. For this incident the Syrian Archive has collected and verified one (1) video.

Specific incendiary munitions were unable to be identified for any attacks in November 2016.