2017 Aleppo suicide car bombing
2017 Aleppo suicide car bombing | |
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Part of the Syrian Civil War | |
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Location | Aleppo, Syria |
Date | 15 April 2017 |
Weapons | Car bomb |
Deaths | 126+[1] |
Injured | 55+ |
Perpetrator | Unknown |
On 15 April 2017, a car bomb detonated near a convoy of buses in al-Rashideen area,[2] west of Aleppo which carried civilian evacuees from the besieged government-controlled towns of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya.[3] The bombing killed at least 126 people.[4]
Background
The buses were transporting evacuees as part of an agreement brokered between the Syrian government, Iran, and Qatar (representing rebel fighters) and implemented by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.[5] Under the terms of the evacuation deal, residents of the Shia communities of Al-Fu'ah and Kafriya, which supported the Assad government[6] and were surrounded by Sunni fighters, would be transported to Aleppo.[5] In return, anti government fighters in Madaya and Al-Zabadani would be transported to the Idlib province.[5]
Bombing
The attack took place in the Rashideen district, just west of the city of Aleppo, at about 15:30 local time.[7] According to journalists, the bomb was in a car that parked and began distributing food near the front of a convoy of buses that were stopped at a checkpoint to move injured refugees.[7][8]
Early reports indicated that only a few dozen people had been killed,[9] but the confirmed death toll rose to 126 by the following day, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[7] The Observatory said that 109 of the dead were refugees, including 68 children, with the remainder rebel fighters and aid workers,[7] though a spokesman for the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group said that about 30 of its members were killed.[10] According to the White Helmets civil defense group, 55 people were injured.[11]
Perpetrator
The perpetrator of this bombing was some entity aligned with the "opposition".
Reactions
United Nations – UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres requested that all parties guarantee the security of those waiting to be evacuated and added that "Those responsible for today’s attack must be brought to justice".[12]
The Holy See - Pope Francis condemned the bombing during his Easter Sunday address, calling it a "vile attack on fleeing refugees".[7]
See also
- Siege of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya for background on the evacuation and a previous attack on evacuation buses
- 2015 Zabadani cease-fire agreement for the four-town evacuation agreement that the buses were part of
- List of bombings during the Syrian Civil War
References
- ^ "Syria evacuees bomb attack death toll rises to 112: monitor". AFP. 16 April 2017.
- ^ "Dozens killed after bomb explodes near Aleppo evacuation bus convoy". CBC News. 15 April 2017.
- ^ "Syria war: Huge bomb kills dozens of evacuees in Syria". BBC News. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Death toll from Aleppo bus convoy bomb attack at least 126: Observatory". Reuters. 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- ^ a b c "More Than 7,000 People Evacuated From 4 Besieged Syrian Towns". The New York Times. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ al-Kurdi, Anas. "Syrian regime forces 'lost stomach to retake Idlib'". alaraby.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Syria war: 'At least 68 children among 126 killed' in bus bombing". BBC News Online. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ "Aleppo blast: Syrian evacuation convoy targeted". Al-Jazeera. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ "Dozens Killed as Blast Strikes Convoy Carrying Evacuated Syrians". The New York Times. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ El Deeb, Sarah; Issa, Philip. "Over 100 killed during Syria's troubled population transfer". stltoday.
- ^ "Syria: 126 killed as bomb hits buses with evacuees, group says". CNN. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma; Damien Gayle, Damien. "Deadly Aleppo suicide attack kills 100 in evacuation operation". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2017.