| 2017 Aleppo suicide car bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of theSyrian Civil War | |
.svg) | |
 Interactive map of 2017 Aleppo suicide car bombing | |
| Location | 36°10′10″N37°03′24″E / 36.16944°N 37.05667°E /36.16944; 37.05667 Rashideen District, westernAleppo,Syria |
| Date | 15 April 2017; 8 years ago (2017-04-15) |
| Weapons | Car bomb |
| Deaths | 126+[1] |
| Injured | 55+ |
| Perpetrator | Unknown |
On 15 April 2017, acar bomb detonated near a convoy of buses in theal-Rashideen neighbourhood of westernAleppo,Syria.[2] The buses carried civilian evacuees from thebesieged government-controlled towns ofal-Fu'ah andKafriya and were guarded by rebel fighters.[3] The bombing killed at least 126 people[4] including at least 80 children.[5]
The bus evacuation was part of anagreement brokered by theSyrian government,Iran, andQatar, and implemented by theSyrian Arab Red Crescent.[6] Under the terms of the evacuation deal, residents of theShia communities ofal-Fu'ah andKafriya, which supported the Syrian government[7] and were surrounded by theArmy of Conquest,[8] would be transported to Aleppo.[6] In return, residents ofMadaya andAl-Zabadani, which are Sunni-majority and support the opposition, would be transported to theIdlib province.[6]
The attack took place in theRashideen district, in the western outskirts of the city of Aleppo, at about 15:30 local time.[9] According to some journalists, the bomb was in a car that parked and began distributingcrisps to attract children.[10][11] This car was near the front of a convoy of buses that were stopped at a checkpoint to move injured refugees.[9][12] An investigation byBellingcat disputed that it was an aid vehicle, but instead a third-generationHyundai Porter Super Cab, bearing a "W77" label and a yellow-green-red color scheme, of indeterminate affiliation.[10]
Early reports indicated that a few dozen people had been killed,[13] but the confirmed death toll rose to 126 by the following day, according to theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights.[9] The Observatory said that 109 of the dead were refugees, including 68 children, with the remainder rebel fighters and aid workers,[9] though a spokesman for theAhrar al-Sham rebel group said that about 30 of its members were killed.[14] According to theWhite Helmets civil defense group, 55 people were injured.[15]
The bombing led to the suspension of evacuations for several days; they resumed on 19 April with tight security at the Rashideen checkpoint.[16] Three days after the bombing, aUnited Nations spokesperson said that the bombing was "likely awar crime" and a person of interest seen in footage prior to the bombing is being investigated.[17]
The perpetrator's identity is unknown. According to Syrian state television, the civilians of Fuaa and Kafriya supported the government during the rebel siege of the towns, and the rebels were responsible for the bombing.[18] Ahrar al-Sham denied responsibility,[19] and members of the opposition suggested that the Assad government might have been behind the attack as a way of diverting attention from theKhan Shaykhun chemical attack.[18] Rami Abdulrahman, the director of theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), stated in a televised interview that he believed the bombing was not done by the Syrian government.[20]
Secretary-General of the United NationsAntónio Guterres requested that all parties guarantee the security of those waiting to be evacuated.[21]Pope Francis condemned the bombing during his Easter Sunday address, calling it a "vile attack on fleeing refugees".[9] The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the attack "has shown once again the necessity to strengthen the ceasefire agreement".[22]
Robert Fisk, writing forThe Independent, criticized the United States government for adouble standard regarding the attack, contrasting its silence on the bombing with its reaction to theKhan Shaykhun chemical attack earlier in the month; he said that "after this weekend's suicide bombing [...] the White House said nothing [...] because–and here's the point–they were the victims of the wrong kind of killer."[23]
Foua and Kefraya have been surrounded by Jaysh al-Fatah (Army of Conquest), led by al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Musra and Islamists Ahrar ash-Sham since March last year.
Abdul Rahman said he doesn't believe the Syrian regime is behind the attack.
