Syria: At Least 89 Killed in Drone Attack on Military Academy

Facts

• Syria's Health Ministry stated that 89 people, including 31 women and five children, were killed on Thursday in a drone attack on the Homs Military Academy during a crowded graduation ceremony, with up to 277 others wounded — some of them in critical condition.¹
• The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported an even larger death toll of 123 dead, including 54 civilians, 39 of them women and children, as military personnel and their families were attending the event in the central Syrian city of Homs.²
• Though there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the aerial assault, the Syrian government claimed that 'terrorist organizations' backed by 'well-known' foreign actors were behind it, with the armed forces vowing to retaliate against those who planned and executed the attack.³
• Overnight, Damascus troops reportedly fired artillery shells into opposition-held areas in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, allegedly killing multiple civilians and prompting authorities to cancel group Friday prayers amid fears that mosques could be attacked.⁴
• UN chief Antonio Guterres voiced his 'deep concern' over the drone attack and the retaliatory measures, while Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin reportedly sent condolences to his Syrian ally, Pres. Bashar al-Assad. Damascus declared three days of national mourning.⁵
• Syria's crisis began in 2011 when peaceful pro-democracy uprisings turned into a full-scale conflict that has killed over 500K people, internally displaced nearly 7M, and led another 6M to seek asylum or refugee protection abroad.⁶

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²France 24, ³CNN, ⁴Reuters, ⁵Al Jazeera and ⁶BBC News.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Mayadeen English. This terrorist attack was a wicked act of cowardice carried out by those who have long been deeply aligned with international parties. Violence and instability will only continue alongside the US and Turkish occupation. It's about time for the illegal occupation forces to leave Syria and be held accountable for assisting these groups.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by english.alarabiya.net. The treacherous attack must be condemned in the strongest possible terms, but it cannot obscure the fact that it is the Assad regime that has unleashed the violence in the country. Along with its Russian and Iranian backers, the bloody regime committed unspeakable crimes against its own people. Any normalization of relations with Damascus would mean complicity in the ongoing violence.

Predictions