Drone attacks targeted a military school graduation ceremony in west-central Syrian city of Homs on Thursday, leaving 123 dead, including 54 civilians, and injuring 150 others according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, while the Syrian Health Ministry confirmed the death toll as 89, including 31 women and 5 children.
The injured, including officers and their relatives who were awaiting them at the school’s gate, were taken to various hospitals in Homs. Unconfirmed reports suggest that some of the injured may have succumbed to their injuries.
United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres was “deeply concerned” over the drone attack and the retaliatory shelling, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press conference on Thursday.
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen expressed grave concern over the incident. “I am deeply concerned by the alarming reports of a drone attack on the graduation ceremony of a military academy in Homs,” Pedersen stated. He urged all parties to exercise utmost restraint and called for a nationwide ceasefire in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015).
The ceremony was attended by the Syrian Defence Minister and Syrian army commanders, raising questions about the security measures in place during such high-profile events. The Syrian government attributed the attack to terrorist organisations backed by international forces, although no group has yet claimed responsibility.
