Home Human Rights Journalism Northern Syria: Explosion of Weapons Depot in a Residential Area Raises Demands to Protect Civilians

Northern Syria: Explosion of Weapons Depot in a Residential Area Raises Demands to Protect Civilians

A weapons depot of the Sham Legion/Faylaq al-Sham went off in Babisqa village in northern rural Idlib resulting in casualties and displacements

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On 1 June 2022, around 10:30 PM, a huge blast occurred in a weapons depot in a military base of the Sham Legion/Faylaq al-Sham group of the Syrian National Army (SNA) in Babisqa village, adjacent to Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey.

The White Helmets, officially known as Syria Civil Defense, reported that the explosion continued for more than two hours and resulted in the killing of a girl with special needs and a member of the Sham Legion/Faylaq al-Sham group as well as the injury of two civilians. Furthermore, the blast threw the shrapnel of rockets, explosives and munitions that affected tens of tents in the IDP camps adjacent to the depot, prompting the Civil Defense to evacuate at least 12 camps in the area.

Media sources reported that the explosion was caused by a drone attack. However, exclusive sources told STJ that the real cause was that the weapons and ammunition were haphazardly stored in a depot without proper safety measures.

We should recall that Idlib witnessed earlier huge explosions in ammunition and weapons depots, as well as in plants for explosive manufactory located in residential buildings. Those explosions killed and wounded dozens of civilians. The largest casualty toll; however, was the explosion of an ammunition depot in Bab al-Hawa, which took place on 12 August 2018. This explosion killed 67 people, including children and women, and wounded more than 70 others.

Many of the Syrian armed opposition groups locate their headquarters and weapons depots in civilian residential areas or near IDP camps in order to shield them from military operations. Nevertheless, these groups do not take any kind of precautions to guarantee the safety of civilians living in the vicinity of their military objects.

 

To read the report in full as a PDF, follow this link.

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