Methodology

This report is based on field investigations conducted in Aleppo, Idlib, and Latakia governorates, Syria, in August, October, and December 2012. Researchers visited 50 sites of air strikes in Aleppo, Idlib, and Latakia governorates and witnessed some of the attacks firsthand (some sites had been attacked more than once); they interviewed more than 140 witnesses and victims of the attacks in these governorates, as well as witnesses from Idlib, Homs, Hama, and Damascus, and four defectors from the Syrian Air Force who had been displaced inside the country or fled to neighboring countries.

The interviews were conducted by Arabic-speaking researchers or with the help of Arabic-English interpreters. Wherever possible, the interviews were conducted in private. Human Rights Watch did not rely on armed opposition groups for logistical assistance during field visits to Syria.

With respect to other strikes, in areas that Human Rights Watch was unable to visit (in Idlib, Homs, Hama, and Damascus), researchers conducted interviews with witnesses who had fled from those areas to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, and in some cases, by phone with witnesses inside Syria.

Human Rights Watch reviewed hundreds of videos filmed by witnesses and, when possible, interviewed them about the content. Arms experts, including from Human Rights Watch, reviewed videos and witness statements to identify weapons and delivery methods.

Gathering information about violations in Syria remains difficult and dangerous. Syria’s government refuses entry to Human Rights Watch and other international human rights groups. While the government has granted access to some journalists, it often places restrictions on their movement or otherwise prevents them from reporting freely.

Because Syrians who speak to foreigners or try to share information through electronic means have faced severe repercussions from the government, Human Rights Watch exercised caution while collecting and publicizing the information it received. To protect witnesses, names of witnesses or places of interviews in this report have, in some cases, been changed or withheld.

During its research, Human Rights Watch focused on aerial attacks that took place in locations Human Rights Watch was able to visit or that resulted in civilian casualties. In this report, Human Rights Watch only used information that contained sufficient detail and was independently corroborated by witness statements, video footage, and casualty lists compiled by activists. We excluded dozens of other accounts and allegations that we documented but could not corroborate.

For each attack, Human Rights Watch attempted to determine whether the strike hit a military target or whether there were any military targets in the vicinity that might have been the subject of the attack. Human Rights Watch did this by examining the site of the attack and the neighborhood, and asking local residents and witnesses whether they knew of any opposition fighters, bases, or vehicles in the vicinity at the time of the attack or whether they believed that the strike had targeted something else. Human Rights Watch also reviewed casualty databases and media reports to establish whether there were any reported opposition fighters killed or injured during the attack, or whether any opposition bases or vehicles were hit.    

Casualty numbers in places that Human Rights Watch visited are based on the names and other details provided by relatives, and cross-checked with casualty databases compiled by local activists.