Direct proof of use
Human Rights Watch reported on February 24, 2012, that video footage from Homs showed Syrian army use of Russian-made 240 mm mortar systems against the city. The same report said a February 16 resident-posted video documented 240 mm F-864 high-explosive mortar bombs in Baba Amr, in the old al-Hakura area.
Action on Armed Violence later identified the 53-F-864 240 mm bomb as the munition fired by the M-240 heavy mortar system seen in Homs. Armament Research Services separately noted that only 53-F-864 high-explosive 240 mm projectiles had previously been documented in Syria before later rocket-assisted 240 mm projectile evidence appeared around Damascus in 2015.
Sources: Human Rights Watch Homs F-864, AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen M-240, ARES 240 mm Projectiles in Syria
Timeline
The documented F-864 use is concentrated in the February 2012 Homs bombardment. Human Rights Watch said shelling of Homs had been under way since February 3 and that video posted on February 16 showed F-864 bombs used by the Syrian army.
On March 2, 2012, Human Rights Watch published satellite-image analysis of Baba Amr showing extensive damage and at least 950 visible impact craters in open areas from indirect-fire weapons. That later report referred back to HRW's earlier documentation of Russian-made 240 mm mortar systems against Homs.
Sources: Human Rights Watch Homs F-864, Human Rights Watch Baba Amr Satellite Imagery
Use in Homs
The F-864 evidence places the munition in Syrian government indirect-fire operations during the battle for Homs, not merely in Syrian stockpiles. HRW attributed the identified use to the Syrian army and described the weapon as fired from a towed or armored-vehicle-mounted 240 mm mortar system.
The munition's documented role was heavy high-explosive mortar bombardment. HRW gave the projectile weight as 130 kilograms with a 31.93 kilogram TNT explosive charge, while AOAV characterized the 53-F-864 as the heavy 240 mm bomb associated with the M-240 system seen in Homs.
The sources do not establish every firing unit, launcher serial, or full quantity expended. They do support use by Syrian government forces in Homs, with Baba Amr as the clearest documented location.
Sources: Human Rights Watch Homs F-864, AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen M-240
