| Part of theSyrian Civil War | |
  Urum al-Kubra Urum al-Kubra (Syria) | |
 | |
| Date | 19 September 2016 |
|---|---|
| Time | Began sometime between 7:12 - 7:50 p.m. or at around 8 p.m. |
| Location | Urum al-Kubra,Aleppo Governorate,Syria |
| Coordinates | 36°09′06″N36°58′04″E / 36.151583°N 36.967750°E /36.151583; 36.967750 |
| Participants | Syrian government (per UN) |
| Deaths | 14[1] |
| Property damage | 17 food-aid trucks destroyed[1] |
AUnited Nations andSyrian Arab Red Crescent aid convoy unloading at a warehouse along Highway 60 in the rebel-held city ofUrum al-Kubra, approximately 15 kilometers (9 mi) west of the city ofAleppo in theAleppo Governorate ofSyria, was destroyed during a late night attack on 19 September 2016, during theSyrian Civil War. The UN accused the Syrian government of a carrying out the attack in a "meticulously planned and ruthlessly carried out" air strike, first droppingbarrel bombs, then rocketing the convoy, and finally strafing survivors with machine gun fire.[2][3] In all, fourteen aid workers were killed in the strike.[3]
In 2016, theDeir ez-Zorsubdistrict of easternSyria was one of the few remaining Syrian government strongholds in the embattled country. On 17 September 2016, the U.S. Coalitionbombed Syrian troops near the city resulting in the deaths of between 90 and 106 Syrian Arab Army soldiers and the wounding of 110 more soldiers.[4][5] The attack triggered "a diplomatic firestorm",[6] withRussia calling an emergencyUnited Nations Security Council meeting in response to the incident.[6] On 19 September, the Syrian government declareda week long ceasefire that it had been adhering to over, effective at 7:00pm (DST),[7] which was exactly when the ceasefire was set to expire. Shortly afterwards on that same day, sometime between 7:12 - 7:50pm or at around 8pm., the aid convoy was attacked.[8][9][10]
According to theNew York Times, theRed Crescent aid convoy of 31 trucks departed at 10:50 a.m from within Syrian government-held territory. Since the convoy was originally meant to have been accompanied by U.N. staff members it was visibly marked with both United Nations and Red Crescent logos. There were, however, no UN staff members aboard since the Syrian government had reportedly prevented them from leaving with the convoy.[10] This single U.N. approved convoy, manned entirely by Syrian Red Crescent members, has been variously referred to as a U.N. convoy, Red Crescent convoy, and as a U.N.-Red Crescent convoy. TheNew York Times reported that aid workers accompanying the aid convoy were members of theSyrian Arab Red Crescent, which consists of "self-governed local branches in rebel territory" while it is "state-supervised in government areas."[10] About an hour after departing, the aid convoy reached the Syrian government controlled "Death Square" roundabout (named years ago after a car accident), the last government held checkpoint before entering rebel territory, where the convoy's Red Crescent volunteers fromAleppo switched places with Red Crescent volunteers from rebel-heldUrum al-Kubra.[10] The convoy arrived in Urum al-Kubra at around 2:00 p.m. that day.[10] A Russian drone had been monitoring the convoy but Russian officials said that it had ceased operations at 1:40pm, although rebel sources said that the drone was still in the area at around 5:00 p.m.[10]
The attack began sometime between 7:12 - 8:00pm and ended at around midnight that same day.[10][9] A relief worker who survived the attack said helicopters commenced the strike by dropping severalbarrel bombs. This was followed by jets flying conducting airstrikes, including strafing runs. A picture released after the attack shows the tail fin of a Russian-made OFAB 250-270 bomb lodged in debris. United States officials believe that RussianSukhoi Su-24 aircraft took part as well.[11][12] TheInternational Committee of the Red Cross reported that 20 civilians were killed and that 18 of the 31 vehicles in the convoy were destroyed.[13]
The United Nations condemned the attack. Although they initially described the attack as an airstrike, they later retreated from this and referred to it simply as an attack.[10]
The United States and its coalition partners accused the Russian and Syrian governments of carrying out the attacks, and laid accusations (although not official charges) of war crimes. John Kerry, citing this incident, broke off bilateral ceasefire discussions with Russia. Syrian rebel media outlets and outlets running from the member states of the coalition largely supported the coalition's accusations.
The Syrian and Russian governments denied the charges and instead blamed the attack on terrorists groups operating in Aleppo. The Russian government further accused the United States of being aware of Russia's innocence and of using this attack to deflect attention away from the coalition's then recentattack against the Syrian government, which the U.S. denied. Syrian and Russian media outlets, as well as many of the outlets of their allies, largely supported their own government's accusations.
On 1 March 2017, theOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) debunked the Russian and Syrian propaganda and issueda report on human rights situation during thebattle of Aleppo, finding that theSyrian Air Force deliberately targeted the humanitarian convoy, and that this amounts to awar crime.[1][14]
the Syrian Arab Army's High Command announced that the nationwide ceasefire is over after a 7 day period. According to the Syrian Arab Army's High Command, the nationwide ceasefire expires today, per the Russo-American agreement that was put in place 10 days ago. [...] The ceasefire is officially set to expire at 7:00 P.M. (Damascus Time).
