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On the night of 8 December 2024, a Turkish drone strike targeted a residential structure in Al-Mustariha village in Raqqa Governorate, killing twelve members of a single family, which included women and children. The civilian mass casualty event contributed to considerable panic among the local population in areas held by Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria regarding military escalation in the region with the onset of Operation Dawn of Freedom and the 2024 Manbij offensive conducted by the pro-Turkish Syrian National Army (SNA) against Syrian Democratic Forces positions. These airstrikes took places in three provinces: Al-Hasakah Governorate (140 strikes killed 3 Syrian soldiers, 24 military personnel, and 6 civilians, including one woman), Raqqa Governorate (7 strikes resulted in the deaths of 4 military personnel and 11 civilians) and Rural Aleppo (45 strikes killed 4 military personnel and 3 civilians).[1]
| 2024 Al-Mustariha massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Operation Dawn of Freedom during the Syrian civil war | |
| Location | Al-Mustariha, Raqqa Governorate, Syria |
| Date | 8 December 2024 Around 11:00 p.m. (AST) |
Attack type | Drone strike, massacre |
| Deaths | 12 |
| Perpetrator |  Turkish Armed Forces |
Background
editThrough 2024, Turkish forces conducted 191 documented drone strikes across northern Syria based on statistics cited by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. These operations resulted in 55 fatalities and caused injuries to 49 military personnel and 73 civilians, including six women and three children. The casualty figures included 32 Autonomous Administration military personnel, three Syrian Arab Armed Forces troops, and 20 civilians, among them one woman.[2]
Following the capture of Tell Rifaat, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) announced a military campaign targeting Manbij, a strategic city in the eastern Aleppo countryside. The opposition's military operations occurred as part of Operation Dawn of Freedom simultaneously with Operation Deterrence of Aggression, which advanced from Idlib toward Homs.[3]
Drone strike
editOn 8 December 2024 at 11:00 p.m. AST, a Turkish drone strike targeted a residential structure in Al-Mustariha village, located in the Ayn Issa countryside north of Raqqa. The attack resulted in the deaths of twelve members of a single family, six of which were children and several of whom were women.[4][5][6]
The massacre contributed to already-present panic among the local population in areas held by Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria regarding military escalation in the region and the increase in drone strikes in civilian areas.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "SOHR: Turkish drone strike kills 11 civilians in northern Syria". bianet.org. 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ "Horrific massacre | Turkish drone kills family of 11 civilians, including six children, in Ain Issa countryside". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 2024-12-09. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ a b "المعارضة السورية تبدأ عملية عسكرية ضد "قسد" في منبج بريف حلب الشرقي". عربي21 (in Arabic). 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "مقتل 11 مدنيا سوريا في استهداف مسيرة تركية منزلا". اندبندنت عربية (in Arabic). 2024-12-09. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ "مقتل 11 مدنيا جراء استهداف مسيرة تركية منزلا شمالي الرقة". Sky News Arabia (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ "الاحتلال التركي يرتكب مجزرة مروّعة جُلّهم من الأطفال والنساء في عين عيسى". ANHA. 9 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.