A UN-condemned attack on a humanitarian convoy near Aleppo killed 14 aid workers, highlighting deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure in the Syrian Civil War.
Key Facts
- Date of attack
- 19 September 2016
- Aid workers killed
- 14 people
- Distance from Aleppo
- approximately 15 kilometers west km
- Convoy operators
- United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent
- Attack methods used
- barrel bombs, rockets, machine gun strafing
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the Syrian Civil War, a joint UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent humanitarian convoy was delivering aid to the rebel-held city of Urum al-Kubra, west of Aleppo. The convoy was unloading at a warehouse along Highway 60 when Syrian government forces identified it as a target.
On the night of 19 September 2016, Syrian government forces carried out a multi-stage air strike on the convoy, first dropping barrel bombs, then firing rockets, and finally strafing survivors with machine gun fire. Fourteen aid workers were killed and the convoy was destroyed.
The United Nations formally accused the Syrian government of conducting a deliberate, meticulously planned attack on a protected humanitarian operation. The incident intensified international condemnation of the Syrian government's conduct during the civil war and drew scrutiny over the protection of aid workers in conflict zones.