via air ( meaning that with the humanitarian 's no - fly zone its inhabitants would starve and be overrun by ISIS ) . Ironically the city is home to an Armenian Christian minority which stems from the rare survivors of death marches from their homeland into the Syrian desert that Armenians were subjected to by the Ottoman Empire during WWI -- those who miraculously avoided annihilation in 1915 may still be eradicated in 2016 -- all under the watchful gaze of Washington . Americans have explained that " coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit " and added that " the coalition will review the strike and the circumstances surrounding it to see if any lessons can be learned " .