2015 Douma market massacre

On August 16, 2015, the Syrian Air Force launched strikes on the town of Douma, northeast of Damascus, killing at least 96 people and injuring at least 200 others. The attack is one of the deadliest in the four-year history of the Syrian Civil War. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, four separate missiles were fired in the strikes, which struck the main market in the town during rush hour.

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Rami Abdurrahman's Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the air strikes as "an official massacre that was carried out deliberately." A Syrian military source told Reuters that the country's air force had carried out strikes in Douma and Harasta that targeted the headquarters of the rebel group Jaysh al-Islam.

The Turkey-based Syrian political opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, said the attack aimed at inflicting as many civilian casualties as possible.

Stephen O'Brien, the United Nations' most senior humanitarian official, said he was horrified by the attacks and reiterated that “attacks on civilians are unlawful, unacceptable and must stop”. The attacks were also condemned by the State Department of the United States, which issued a press release stating that the attacks "demonstrate the [Assad] regime’s disregard for human life."