On December 15th 2014, a warplane of the Syrian regular forces targeted Mouhassan town. JFL documented the death of six civilians including three children.
JFL interviewed Eng. Najdat Al Mustafa, a father of two children victims. Eng. Najdat talked about the incident, names of the victims, and how victims were hospitalized.
Introduction:
Following the military actions in Deir Ezzor city in 2012, thousands of families fled the neighborhoods that were targeted by the regular forces in the city towards Al Hasaka countryside as it was relatively at low level of shelling and displaced people have the opportunity to have residency.
Eng. Najdat Al Mustafa is from Mouhassan town, in east of Deir Ezzor. He used to live in Deir Ezzor city. He fled to his home town. He worked in distributing relief aid in collaborating with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. He also participated in hospitalizing the injured people due to aerial bombardment. He was an eyewitness to any aerial bombardments that resulted in victims in the town.
Children Bodies Turned into Pieces:
Mouhassan town, due to its near location to Deir Ezzor military airbase, was exposed to violent raids since 2012 that resulted in killed and injured.
Eng. Najdat told JFL “The town was exposed to aerial bombing constantly and I was a witness to a number of massacres where civilian victims fell. I was participating in hospitalizing the injured to the field hospital in the town or to other medical points”.
Concerning his children death. Najdat says “I was with my wife outside the house. It was about 14:30 on December 15th 2014. There were six aerial raids on different location in the town. Before I arrived the house, the warplanes were flying over the town and shelled my house where my children were”.
Najdat’s house after being shelled
Credit: Najdat Al Mustafa
Najdat confirmed that the targeted houses belong to civilians saying “My house and my neighbor’s house were shelled. My children, Yussuf who was born in January 2006, and Ghaith Al Din who was born in January 2008, were killed. My son’s body was cut into two parts, where the only thing of my son’s body, Yussuf, was his arm”.
Yussuf Najdat Al Mustafa
Credit: Najdat Al Mustafa
Ghaith Al Din Najdat Al Mustafa
Credit: Najdat Al Mustafa
Along with Najdat children, three men and one girl were killed in the neighboring house. Najdat says “ Mohammad Abdullah Al Hussien who was born in 1969, his brother Ala’a, who was born in 1974, his brother Fouad, who was born in 1977, and the girl Bissan, who was born in 2006, were killed”.
Ala’a Abudllah Al Hussien
Credit: Najdat Al Mustafa
Fouad Abudllah Al Hussien
Credit: Najdat Al Mustafa
Mohammad Abudllah Al Hussien
Credit: Najdat Al Mustafa
Bissan Abudllah Al Hussien
Credit: Najdat Al Mustafa
Injured Hospitalization:
The required medical instruments were not available in the hospitals located in the areas out of control of the regular forces to deal with the injuries. Najdat says “At the beginning, no one cloud get close to the targeted location fearing from a second raid as the warplanes were still flying over the town. My children were not hospitalized as they passed away. We hospitalized Mohammad Abullah Al Hussien and the girl Bissan as they were the only persons who were alive at that time, yet they passed away in the hospital”.
Following the death of his children, Najdat fled Mohassan town to Deir Ezzor city where he was arrested for one year by the Syrian security apparatuses. Aftermath, he headed towards Turkey.
