War of annihilation
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“WAR OF ANNIHILATION” DEVASTATING TOLL ON CIVILIANS, RAQQA – SYRIA
Amnesty International 35
Satellite images showing the house where seven members of the Badran family were killed in a Coalition strike on 18 July 2017, before and after the strike.
“WAR OF ANNIHILATION” DEVASTATING TOLL ON CIVILIANS, RAQQA – SYRIA
Amnesty International 36 THE AIR STRIKES IN HARAT AL-SAKHANI THIRTY-THREE MEMBERS OF THE BADRAN FAMILY AND OTHER CIVILIANS WERE KILLED IN HARAT AL- SAKHANI Rasha, Abdulwahab and other surviving relatives went back to al-Fardous, to be near the hospital so that their injured relatives could get some medical care. Their home in al-Fardous had been destroyed so they stayed in a neighbour’s house next door. They were there for a month but then the hospital ceased to function and they could no longer get bread or water. They went to Harat al-Sakhani neighbourhood in the Old City because they had been told there was a doctor working there. As Rasha explained, they found the doctor – Dr Sofian Delli – and he did his best to treat their relatives. The family also found two houses to stay in but the area was not safe. On or around 18 August, shortly after arriving, Rasha, Abdulwahab and Tulip and other surviving Badran family members joined other local residents and decided to flee as a group. 57 The group of around 65 got as far as Tal Abyad Street, by the Andalus Bakery, when they encountered three IS fighters who opened fire at them. Dr Delli was killed and his father was injured. The family went back to the houses in Harat al-Sakhani. In Rasha’s own words: So we went back to al-Sakhani. We had no other options. Two days later [on 20 August] we were bombed, both houses where we were staying got bombed. Almost everybody was killed. Only I, my husband and his brother and cousin survived. The strike happened at about 7pm. I fainted and when I regained consciousness I heard my husband’s cousin, Mohammed, calling out. I could neither move nor speak. Then my husband and his brother found me. My husband was the most seriously injured – he had a head wound and blood was pouring from his ears. It was dark and we could not see anything. We called out but nobody else answered; nobody moved. It was completely silent except for the planes circling above. We hid in the rubble until the morning because the planes were circling overhead. In the morning we found Tulip’s body; our baby was dead. We buried her near there, by a tree. Both houses were pulverised; nothing was left standing, there was only rubble. These were simple Arab houses, they were not sturdy. I don’t understand why they bombed us. Didn’t the surveillance planes see that we were civilian families? 58
Those killed in the main house at Harat al-Sakhani: Six siblings – six sisters and one brother (Ali): 1.
2.
Summaia Daham bint Mustafa, 55 (widowed, without children) 3.
Abta bint Mustafa Dahab, in her 50s 4.
Ali Badran Ibn Mustafa, 50 5.
Khood Daham bint Mustafa, 48 6.
Shamsa Daham bint Mustafa, 40 (Shamsa’s husband was killed at Nazlet al-Shehada) 7.
Sadeeqa Daham bint Mustafa, 38 (Sadeeqa’s husband was killed at Nazlet al-Shehada) Thuraya’s son and his family: 8.
Ibrahim Daham Ibn Khaleel, late 20s/early 30s 9.
Madonna Daham, mid 20s (Ibrahim’s wife – originally from Damascus) 10.
Madonna’s son, five 11.
12.
Madonna’s daughter, nine months Abta’s children: 13.
Qaisal Sahoo Ibn Mohammed, 20 (Abta’s son) 14.
Khood’s daughter:
57 Survivors and witnesses often find it difficult to be precise about dates, amidst the trauma and the break-down in daily routines. 58 Interview with Rasha Badran, Raqqa, 16 February 2017.
“WAR OF ANNIHILATION” DEVASTATING TOLL ON CIVILIANS, RAQQA – SYRIA
Amnesty International 37 15.
Rana Shamari bint Hussein, 18 (Khood’s daughter) Shamsa’s children: 16.
Sahar Badran bint Mohammed, 18 17.
18.
Ahmed Badran Ibn Mohammed, 10 19.
Hamsa Badran Ibn Mohammed, nine 20.
Daham Badran Ibn Mohammed, four (As well as her husband, Shamsa’s sixth child, Mustafa, was killed previously at Nazlet al-Shehade) Sadeeqa’a children: 21.
22.
Munthir Said Ibn Ismael, 11 23.
Aseel Said Ibn Ismael, six 24.
Khatooneh Wahab, 75 Four others who were not from the Badran family also were killed: 25. Abu Riad, 60s 26. Souad, 50s (Abu Riad’s wife – originally from Iraq) 27. Maha, mid 20s (daughter of Abu Riad and Souad) 28. Ammina Raqim, 60s (Abu Riad’s sister)
Those killed in the other house across the street at Harat al-Sakhani: 1.
Ibrahim Wahab Fahad, in his 70s (a tribal sheikh) 2.
Khadeeja Sahoo bint Tayeb, 60 (Ibrahim’s wife) 3.
Tulip Fahad, one-year-old (Rasha and Abdulwahab’s daughter) 4.
Mohamed Khaleel Badran, 32-33 5.
Senad Dhaba, 19 (originally from Aleppo) Another family member is also missing. When the family were staying in the al-Fardous neighhourhood (see below), Mohamed Fahad, 72, went out on foot to look for water some 20 days before the strikes on Harat al- Sakhani (in late July 2017) and never returned. The family does not know what happened to him. THE AIR STRIKE AT AL-FARDOUS The young couple and their two relatives soon realised that they were the only survivors. After they buried baby Tulip, they left, once again trying to find a safe place to shelter. [After the air strike on 20 August], we went back to al-Fardous, to the same house as before. Then we tried to escape. Ousama and Mohammed, my husband’s brother and cousin, went to a neighbour to ask if they wanted to join us, so we would go as a group. As they came out from the neighbour’s and were trying to cross the street, a drone struck the road, so they ran back into the neighbour’s house. And immediately then a plane bombed the house (three floors) and destroyed it. Mohamed and Ousama and the owner of the house and two guests were all killed. 59
towards the stadium and Harat al-Badu – me, my husband and five neighbours. We stayed in Harat al-Badu for two nights. Then we went to a nearby mosque (al-Nawawi mosque) for one night. There were about 60 or 65 people sheltering in the mosque. Finally, on 17 September at about 4am – we used the time of the morning prayer call to cover the noise of our steps – about 25 of us managed to cross the front line to where the SDF where. The rest could not make it because Daesh snipers started to shoot and they were forced to go back. I don’t know how many of them made it out alive, if any were killed by Daesh or by the Coalition bombardments. 60
After weeks of hiding and fleeing the young couple finally managed to reach safety. They had lost their baby and 38 other family members in the ordeal.
59 Unlike the sites of the strikes in Nazlet al-Shehade and Harat al-Sakhani, Amnesty International was unable to visit the site of the al- Fardous strikes, where according to the testimonies of the witnesses interviewed by Amnesty International, five civilians were killed in an air strike.
60 Interview with Rasha Badran, Raqqa, 16 February 2017. Yüklə 5,63 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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