2,570 civilians killed, injured in Syria in first half of 2023

Introduction and Methodology:

The war in Syria, ongoing for over a decade, has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians in the country. Every victim in Syria after 2011 became only a number. The parties to the conflict continued to amplify that number and inflicted tragedies on hundreds of thousands of victims’ families through military operations, bombardment, torture, abuse, and unlawful attacks against civilians. The security chaos also caused increasing conflict-related casualties in Syria. The United Nations (UN) estimated the number of civilian fatalities since the beginning of the war at 306,887.

This semi-annual report issued by the Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press, is based on its databases that record and document violations committed by parties to the conflict in Syria  against civilians according to date, name, responsible party, incident type and location. The report also uses information received directly from field correspondents, as well as news articles and reports released by the agency, testimonies from victims and their relatives, and security and human rights sources.  

The report shows the toll of civilian victims in Syria during the first half of 2023 who were killed or wounded as a result of the shelling, torture, extrajudicial killings, remnants of war, IEDs planted by controlling powers, security chaos, in addition to victims of battles and other conflict-related incidents.

Civilian victims

In the first half of 2023, the Department documented the death of 1,045 civilians, including 850 men, 86 women, and 109 children, and the injury of 1,525 others, including 1,283 men, 78 women, and 164 children. Our department documented 92 percent of the victim’s toll by name, whereas only confirmed occurrence of the incident and its details without obtaining the names for the remaining victims.

Based on fatality statistics and civilian injuries recorded in the first six months of 2023, five civilians were killed, and eight were wounded every day in Syria. Approximately a woman was killed every two days and a child every 30 hours.

The number of civilian victims reached 142 dead and 207 wounded in January, 184 dead and 185 wounded in February, 230 dead and 265 wounded in March, 246 dead and 308 wounded in April, 122 dead and 235 wounded in May, 121 dead and 325 wounded in June.

Victims according to city

The highest number of civilian victims were recorded in Deir ez-Zor with 503, including 254 dead and 249 injured, as a result of the widespread of remnants of war and increasing activity of the Islamic State (ISIS) there, in addition to intertribal fighting.

Next comes the northern countryside of Aleppo with 459 casualties, including 82 dead and 377 wounded. Most of the victims were killed by Turkish-backed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), or Turkish border guards, in addition to security chaos.

Third comes the city of Idlib, northwest Syria, with 344 casualties, including 77 dead and 267 wounded. These civilians fell victim to the violations and executions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS  – formerly al-Nusra Front), in addition to the shelling occurring in the region by the Syrian government forces and Russia.

The casualties in Daraa reached 292, including 152 dead and 140 wounded, as result of security chaos and increasing assassinations. In Homs, the casualties reached 193, including 115 dead and 78 wounded. In Hama, the casualties reached 191, including 106 dead and 85 injured. The casualties in the city of Damascus and its countryside reached 105, including 52 dead and 53 injured. In Aleppo, the casualties reached 103, including 37 dead and 66 wounded.

The casualties in the city of Hasakah, northeast Syria, reached 96, including 44 dead and 52 wounded. In Raqqa, 83 casualties, including 37 dead and 46 wounded, then followed by Suwayda with 54 casualties, including 35 dead and 19 wounded. In Latakia, the casualties reached 43, including 22 dead and 21 injured, and in the Turkish-occupied city of Tel Abyad, it reached 40 casualties, including two dead and 38 wounded.

The casualties in Qamishli, northeast Syria, reached 28, including 14 dead and 14 wounded. In Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), it reached 28, including 10 dead and 18 injured. In Kobani, nine casualties, including three dead and six injured. In Qunaitra, six casualties, including four dead and two wounded, and finally in Tartus, it reached four casualties, including two dead and two injured.

Responsible parties

The parties to the conflict and interfering foreign powers varied in Syria. Some of those powers established military bases inside the country, and others launched attacks from inside their territory against Syrian territories. As recorded by our department, 12 parties, including five foreign parties, directly caused the death of these civilians and violated the international law and human rights laws.

Turkey takes the lead of the list of these powers as 494 individuals, including 42 dead and 452 wounded, fell victims to its forces’ violations and illegal shelling in Syria. Next in line is Russia, with 42 casualties, including four dead and 38 wounded, as a result of its indiscriminate shelling. Then comes Israel with 27 casualties, including seven and 20 wounded. Iran, through its force and Iranian-backed militias, caused 21 casualties, including 13 dead and eight injured. Finally, Jordan’s shelling killed eight people.

As for parties to the conflict in Syria, the highest civilian casualties were caused by ISIS, with 346 individuals, including 280 dead and 66 injured. Then followed by the SNA factions with 207 casualties, including 22 dead and 185 injured. Then comes the Syrian government forces with 166 casualties, including 74 dead and 92 injured. The HTS caused 84 casualties, including 59 dead and 25 wounded. Civilians also caused 568, including 245 dead and 323 wounded, through fighting or purposeful killing, in addition to 607 people, including 291 dead and 316 wounded, who fell victim to unknown perpetrators.

The parties to the conflict and the international community should put an end to the serious ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria. They must protect civilians and their rights, provide safety and stability and work together to find a comprehensive political solution to the conflict. Relevant parties must act swiftly and adopt necessary measurements to end violence and human suffering in Syria. Parties to the conflict and other parties who caused the death of civilians in Syria must adheres to international standards, treaties and instruments that impose the protection of civilians in times of conflict, such as the international humanitarian law in accordance with article 3 of the Fourth Geneva Treaty of 1949, which prohibits the killing and torture of civilians not involved in fighting and forbids torture, cruel or inhumane  treatment, and Article 13 forbids carrying out attacks against civilians. In turn, articles 6 and 9 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee the right to life and prohibit killing, arbitrary and cruel executions and guarantee the right to liberty and security of person.