Syria

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Last updated: 03 September 2015

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2014

1,091 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (556 killed; 523 injured; 12 unknown)

Total cluster munition casualties since 2012

There were at least 383 cluster munition casualties in 2014, 1001 in 2013 and 583 in 2012

(see below for more details on these cluster munition casualties, including those occurring during attacks, but which are not included in other casualty totals because date of incident and location not reported)

Casualties in 2014

174 (2013: 201)

2014 casualties by outcome

161 killed; 13 injured (2013: 201 killed; unknown injured)

2014 casualties by item type

51 cluster submunition; 123 unspecified mine types

 

In 2014, 174 casualties (123 killed and 51 injured) due to mines, cluster submunitions, and other ERW were identified in the Syrian Arab Republic.[1] Adult men made up the largest portion of the casualties with 114 reported. Of these recorded casualties, 70% were civilians, including at least 45 children. The overall total of mine, cluster submunition, and other ERW casualties is thought to be an undercount. It is expected that the actual number of casualties in Syria in 2014 was significantly higher than that recorded. The intensity of the ongoing conflict and widespread persecution of human rights activists severely hampered civil society efforts to track casualties.[2]Data available was mostly for fatalities, making it certain that persons injured were massively unreported.

Detailed data on fatalities was collected and disaggregated according to the weapons involved by the Violation Documentation Center in Syria (VDC) and the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR). The SNHR also documented a number of people injured by cluster munitions, many of whom were wounded by unexploded submunitions that are scattered widely throughout many areas of the country.[3] Persons injured were not, however, fully disaggregated in the data.

Since internal conflict began in 2011, the numbers of casualties identified annually in Syria significantly increased from previous years. In 2010, no casualties were identified in Syria, and in 2009, a single antivehicle mine casualty was reported.[4]

In addition to the casualties reported in Syria, included in the total of mine/ERW casualties for Turkey for 2014 were nine Syrian casualties (three civilians were killed and another six injured), resulting from incidents in Turkish border minefields and making up almost half of the total casualties recorded in Turkey in the first 11 months of the year (19). As in 2013, all were reported to be civilians, injured while escaping from the conflict in Syria. At least four of the Syrian border casualties in Turkey in 2014 were children.[5] In 2013, two civilians were killed and four injured.[6] Eight casualties among people fleeing from Syria to Turkey were recorded in 2012.[7] Media reports indicate the total number of Syrian casualties along the Syria-Turkey border could be much higher than reported, with large numbers of displaced persons residing in the minefield.[8] The casualties that occurred in minefields on the Turkish side of the Syria-Turkey border have been included in the Monitor country profile for Turkey, and are therefore not included in the annual total of casualties for Syria.

The first six months of 2015 saw a dramatic increase in casualties from victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs), especially in areas liberated from the non-state armed group calling itself Islamic State (also called Daesh). Reports from Kobani, in northern Syria, indicate that Islamic State fighters left most of the eastern part of the town littered with booby traps (victim-activated IEDs designed to look like harmless objects), as well as ERW.[9] In May 2015, Handicap International (HI) estimated that there had been five to seven incidents weekly resulting in casualties.[10] It is reported that there are high casualty rates among returnees and especially among the locally-formed explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) teams.

The total number of mine/ERW casualties recorded in Syria between 1967 and the end of 2014 is at least 1,091 (556 killed; 523 injured; 12 unknown).[11] In the absence of a national casualty data collection mechanism, it is probable that there were also unrecorded casualties before the beginning of internal armed conflict in 2011.

Cluster munition casualties

For 2014, the Monitor received reports of at least 383 cluster munition casualties in Syria; at least 135 people were recorded as killed and some 248 people injured. Of these casualties, 329 (94 killed; 235 injured) were caused by cluster munition air strikes and shelling (by the direct use of cluster munitions), 51 casualties (38 killed; 13 injured) were recorded from incidents involving unexploded submunitions (including six people attempting to clear unexploded submunitions), and three fatalities were recorded as cluster munition casualties, without further details on use.[12]

These figures represent only the casualties where the date of incident and location were reported. The number of casualties due to strikes and unexploded submunitions is likely much higher. The SNHR confirmed in 2015 that it believes the number of cluster munition casualties, including persons injured, is far greater than what they had been able to report, noting that “the Syrian regime relies greatly on using cluster munitions during shelling.”[13] A representative of the VDC stated that the figures on their website are far less than those caused by the actual use of cluster munitions and that is “due to the hardship of collecting data inside of the different geographic [areas] in Syria and the pursuit of human rights activists by all military parties.”[14]

Collection of data was ongoing and efforts to gather details on casualties were hampered by the intensity of the continuing conflict.[15] In early 2014, the SNHR reported that the number of casualties was believed to be far higher than presented in the available statistics and both the SNHR and the VDC confirmed that difficulties persisted throughout the year.[16] The SNHR reporting includes several detailed accounts of cluster munition use.[17]

The Monitor received reports of at least 1,001 cluster munition casualties in 2013, including 151 killed.[18] In 2012, according to data from VDC and SNHR,[19] 113 people were reported as killed (including four due to unexploded submunitions) and some 470 people injured by cluster munitions.[20]

Prior to new use of cluster munitions in 2012, at least five casualties from unexploded submunitions had been recorded in Syria, including four child casualties in 2007.[21]

Victim Assistance

Syria ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 10 July 2009. In September 2013, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities made a statement with regard to Syria’s need to fulfill its obligations under the CRPD while calling for humanitarian agencies to be “allowed to operate without restrictions throughout Syria” to assist persons with disabilities. including “persons with disabilities among refugees and the internally displaced.”[22]

There is no current estimate of the total number of mine/ERW survivors living in Syria. HI estimated that at least one million people have been injured during the conflict, with tens of thousands needing prosthetics and rehabilitation services.[23]

HI noted “a patent lack of immediate rehabilitation and psychosocial relief,” despite the rising number of conflict-injured people within Syria and those fleeing to neighboring countries.[24]

Insecurity and conflict in Syria affected access to essential medical interventions and medical equipment. There were severe shortages of medicine and medical supplies, as well as the inability of many health workers to access their workplaces. These difficulties were exacerbated by overall disruptions to the health system. A lack of fuel and cuts in electricity forced many hospitals to operate at reduced capacity. A continuously growing number of patients also strained the limited health resources available.[25]

Medical personnel and hospitals were deliberately targeted and access to medical services was denied. The attacks on hospitals and clinics further reduced the provision of basic assistance to injured persons.[26] Physicians for Human Rights documented 224 attacks on 175 different medical facilities from 2011 until December 2014. In addition, at least 600 medical personnel have been killed and many more have fled since the conflict began. At the end of 2014, only two hospitals and one referral center remained operational to provide specialized mental health services.[27]

The ICRC reported that health ministry hospitals and other health facilities, particularly the National Red Crescent Society’s mobile health units, provided emergency medical care, inpatient treatment, and primary healthcare to injured people using ICRC-donated medical supplies. To support persons with disabilities, the ICRC distributed some assistive devices to four physical rehabilitation centers in Aleppo in 2014.[28] However, supplies and support for casualty care reached areas under the control of armed groups only on a small number of occasions because of Syrian government restrictions as well the constant insecurity due to the conflict. Besieged areas only received medical supplies on four occasions in 2014.[29]

Humanitarian organizations continued to support medical care and rehabilitation services throughout Syria. HI carried out some programming in Syria, in addition to supporting at least a dozen Syrian organizations and partners, to provide services directly to persons with disabilities including mine/ERW survivors or to make referrals to other services. Paramedical staff were offered distance learning by HI to improve their treatment of war injuries.[30] Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) operates two medical facilities in Aleppo province; one provides orthopedic and emergency care, and the other larger hospital provides surgical, emergency, and mental health care. In Aleppo, MSF also supported field hospitals, health centers, and first aid points with supplies in 2014. In Idlib, the MSF trauma surgical unit offered physical therapy and post-operative care. These services are often the primary emergency care available for mine/ERW or cluster strike casualties.[31]

In late 2014, Islamic State issued a statement discouraging persons with disabilities and war-injured residents in areas of Syria under their control from travelling to Turkey to obtain prosthetic limbs because a prosthetic workshop had been opened by the armed group. The notice outlining this policy included instructions for persons in need of a prosthetic limb to register with local Islamic State authorities who would then order a prosthesis in writing from the new facility. In addition to concerns restricting freedom of movement and preventing survivors and persons with disabilities from accessing high-quality care in Turkey, the mail-order nature of this service indicates that fit and quality will be poor.[32]

Assistance to Syrian refugees

Several international organizations provided assistance to Syrian refugees, including mine survivors and other weapon-wounded people, in multiple host countries. In Lebanon, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, and Syria, HI teams are supplying aid to injured refugees, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable persons, including by providing orthopedic devices and helping them access services.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan reported a high ratio of injuries leading to amputation and also spinal cord injuries, “approximately double the ratio what HI are used to seeing in other crises.”[33]

In Iraq, healthcare centers and hospitals in the Kurdistan region were overwhelmed by the number of refugees in need entering from Syria during 2014, especially when combined with the increase in internal displacement. UNICEF and UNHCR monitored a border crossing between Syria and Iraq to identify families with vulnerable or disabled children for referral to specific services.[34]

It was reported that in Lebanon, “the influx of Syrian refugees to different Lebanese territories including the contaminated areas results in an increase in mine/ERW incidents.”[35] A number of UN agencies, as well as national and international NGOs, have initiated programs and interventions that directly support the Ministry of Public Health “to try and relieve some of the burden on Lebanon’s health system.”[36] The influx of refugees from Syria into Lebanon[37] has put increasing strain on local resources and exacerbated tensions within communities. Services available to persons with disabilities and mine/ERW survivors through national NGOs continued to decrease due to a lack of funding. The government of Lebanon noted that resources remained scarce and that international assistance to Lebanon remained “relatively insignificant compared to the size of the crisis.”[38] The ICRC provided emergency medical care to weapon-wounded people from Syria including post-operative care and physical rehabilitation. A few were fitted with assistive devices.[39]

In Jordan, the wounded from Syria were taken to nearby hospitals immediately upon arrival. The costs of medical care are sometimes covered by UN and humanitarian organizations.[40] MSF’s Reconstructive Surgery Project in Amman provided surgery, as well as physiotherapy and psychosocial support.[41] Many humanitarian organizations are operating in Zataari refugee camp, including MSF, which supports mental health for war injured and other physical therapy services.[42]

Initial emergency medical care for Syrian refugees injured in Turkey has been provided locally. However, the hospitals were not accurately identifying landmine casualties from other war victims in their patient profiles.[43] In the refugee camps near Suruç, mine survivors could receive medical assistance from volunteer healthcare workers, but there were only two ambulances and both were also used for transporting goods.[44] Turkey provides emergency medical care for Syrians but costs involving physical rehabilitation, mobility aids, and plastic surgery are not covered so refugees have to rely on donors and humanitarian organizations. Turkey received around 2,500 injured Syrians (including landmine, cluster munition, and ERW survivors) a month in 2014.[45]



[1] All data for 2014 is derived from casualty data from the Violation Documentation Center in Syria (VDC) database; SNHR, “The Syrian Regime’s Cluster Munition Attacks in 2014,” 18 October 2014; casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, Director, Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), 28 April 2014; SNHR, “Four Years Harvest: The Use of Cluster Ammunition…That is Still Going,” 30 March 2015; and email from Amir Kazkaz, Database Management Division, VDC, 14 April 2014. The two data sets and the casualties included in the reports were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set. Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 14 April 2014

[2] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 8 March 2015; and email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 26 July 2015.

[3] SNHR, “The Syrian Regime’s Cluster Munition Attacks in 2014,” 18 October 2014; and SNHR, “Four Years Harvest: The Use of Cluster Ammunition…That is Still Going,” 30 March 2015. According the SNHR “most of the injured were wounded by the cluster bombs when they passed near it, touched it…some of them were injured while trying to disarm it.” Email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 25 July 2014.

[4] Email from Dr. Hosam Doughouz, Health Officer, Quneitra Health Directorate, 12 May 2010.

[5] Casualty data from media scanning for January to September 2014. Sent by email from Muteber Öğreten, Initiative of a Mine-Free Turkey (IMFT), 25 November 2014.

[6] These casualties were included in the 2013 annual total for Turkey, not in the total for Syria. See ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Turkey: Casualties and Victim Assistance,” 2 December 2014.

[7] These casualties were included in the 2012 annual total for Turkey, not in the total for Syria. See ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Turkey: Casualties and Victim Assistance,” 25 November 2013.

[8] Unreported World, “The City that beat ISIS,” 29 March 2015. In the documentary, a Kurdish Red Crescent worker mentions that 150 have been injured in the border minefield.

[9] Interview with Richard MacCormac, Head of Mine Action, DanChurchAid, June 2015.

[11]Citizen Injured from Israel Left-over Mine Explosion in Quneitra,” SANA (Quneitra), 6 May 2011. In the article, Omar al-Heibi, head of the board of the General Association for Rehabilitation of Mine-caused Injuries, states that there have been a total of 660 mine casualties (220 killed; 440 injured) as of May 2011, including a man injured in 2011.

[12] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 14 April 2014; casualty data from the VDC database; casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014; SNHR, “The Syrian Regime’s Cluster Munition Attacks in 2014,” 18 October 2014; and SNHR, “Four Years Harvest: The Use of Cluster Ammunition…That is Still Going,” 30 March 2015. The two data sets and the casualties included in the reports were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[13] Email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 27 July 2015.

[14] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 8 March 2015.

[15] “Despite the great difficulty in even getting an approximate number of people injured by the use of cluster munitions by the government forces, the estimates of the team of SNHR refer to more than 1470 people injured.” SNHR, “Victims of Cluster Munitions in Syria,” 2 February 2014, p. 6; SNHR, “Three Year Harvest,” 31 March 2014; and casualty data by sent email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014.

[16] Email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 26 July 2015; and email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 8 March 2015.

[17] SNHR, “The Syrian Regimes Cluster Attacks in 2014 (25 January–25 September 2014),” 18 October 2014; and SNHR, “Four Years Harvest: The Use of Cluster Ammunition…That is Still Going,” 30 March 2015.

[18] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 14 April 2014; casualty data from the VDC database; and casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014. The two data sets were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[19] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 14 April 2014; casualty data from the VDC database; and casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014. The two data sets were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[20] Previously, through media monitoring, the Monitor had identified 165 casualties from cluster munitions strikes for 2012.

[21] HI, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: Handicap International, May 2007), p. 132.

[22] UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), “Persons with disabilities ‘forgotten victims’ of Syria’s conflict,” Geneva, 17 September 2013.

[25] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Syrian Arab Republic: Health Sector Update (September 2013),” 9 September 2013; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2013,” Geneva, 2014, p. 506.

[27] Physicians for Human Rights, “Syria’s Medical Community Under Assault,” February 2015.

[28] ICRC, “Annual Report 2014,” Geneva, 2015, p. 507.

[29] Ibid.

[31] MSF, “Syria Crisis: Factsheet,” January 2015; and MSF, “Our Work: Syria,” undated.

[33] HI, “Injured and disabled people forgotten in ‘highly disabling’ Syria crisis,” 3 December 2013.

[35] Lebanon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2013), Form H.

[36] World Health Organization, “Increasing health vulnerability with over 780 000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon,” 14

October 2013.

[37] There were 1.13 million refugees registered in Lebanon by UNHCR as of October 2014. UNHCR, “International Protection Considerations with regard to people fleeing the Syrian Arab Republic, Update III,” 27 October 2014, p. 3, para. 6.

[38] Statement of Lebanon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Forth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 10 September 2013.

[39] ICRC, “Annual report 2014,” Geneva, 12 May 2015, p. 501.

[40] Syrian Network for Human Rights, “The Wounded in Syria: An Endless Pain,” 26 June 2014.

[41] MSF, “Syria Crisis: Factsheet,” July 2014.

[42] Ibid.

[43] Interview with Reşit Doğru, Chairperson of Suruç Branch of the Trade Union for Public Employees in the Health Sector, Suruç, 18 November 2014.

[44] Kurdish Question, “Why the World Needs To Help Reconstruct Kobane,” 13 April 2015.

[45] Syrian Network for Human Rights, “The Wounded in Syria: An Endless Pain,” 26 June 2014.