On December 1-2, 2024, the city of al-Safira, east of Aleppo, Syria was subjected to a series of airstrikes with contested responsibility allegedly perpetrated by the Russian military and/or Syrian regime forces that resulted in at least seven and up to 19 civilians killed, including up to nine children and two women, and four other injuries.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reporting on Twitter/X, the total death toll for the strike on al-Safira on December 1-2 was 19 civilian deaths, including nine children and two women, and four injuries. Accompanying the tweet was a photograph of an elderly man receiving treatment on a hospital bed.

The Syrian Civil Defence reported the death toll of seven only for December 2, 2024. On Wednesday, December 4th, 2024, the White Helmets were called to an incident with a destroyed building, as a result of the strikes on December 2nd. A video uploaded by @Syrian Civil Defense to Facebook showed the White Helmets personnel on the ground with a digger as they attempted to move some of the rubble. Large slabs of concrete were removed with heavy-duty saws and technical equipment, followed by smaller pieces as the team checked for survivors under the rubble. 35 seconds into the video, the first body is pulled out of the rubble. Whilst the graphic detail is blurred, there is an extensive amount of blood visible on the deceased victim. Moments later, a second body is retrieved from under the rubble. In this instance, the deceased is smaller in size and appears to have a ponytail, suggesting it is a younger child. The conclusion of the video showed “The White Helmets digging a grave for the deceased, laying them to rest.”

The caption that accompanied the video stated that seven civilians had died in the airstrike on Monday, 2nd December, including four children and a woman. The post further reported that the two deceased pictured in this specific video were two girls from the incident on Wednesday, 4th December.

A Facebook post by @Abo Baker noted that the belligerent was the Russian military. The post also included five photographs that showed the extent of the damage. The first photograph depicted a father leading his two children and wife through the rubble of destroyed buildings, whilst another man with his back to the camera watched on. The second photograph was of a middle-aged man being consoled by a man of a similar age. They were dressed smartly, and the weeping man was also wearing traditional headwear. The third, fourth, and fifth photographs showed two younger males, one a teenager and one slightly older. The younger male was walking through the rubble in the third photograph whilst the second individual pushed a pedal bike down another damaged street. Furthermore, Twitter/X users @AM05SW and @Almohrar1 reported that the belligerents were the Russian military. In contrast, @alsaahiral68570 and @Star2Hsyn39635, on Twitter/X, stated that the strikes were ‘joint Syrian-Russian’.

Some social media users, including @alsaahiral69570, @AM05SW, and @Star2Hsyn39635 reported that the joint airstrikes on December 1st targeted the militants from Al-Nusra front (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham) who were stationed in al-Safira. The user @Star2Hsyn39635 alleged that “dozens of terrorists” were killed and injured. However, other sources did not corroborate this information.

While the Syrian Civil Defense and SN4HR attributed the strikes to the Syrian regime, the majority of other sources attributed the strikes to Russian forces or joint Syrian-Russian attacks.

The local time of the incident is unknown.