2011 Syrian Civil War

PM-43 in the 2011 Syrian Civil War

AOAV documented the M-1943/M43 120 mm heavy mortar as a mortar type in use in Syria, with Syrian army forces and Islamic State-aligned fighters among parties using mortars in the war.

Weapon profilePM-43
SideSyrian government and alliesIslamic State and jihadist groupsRoleFire SupportArea Denial
PM-43, 120 mm towed heavy mortar, Artillery - 2011 Syrian Civil War
Image source: 120-PM-43 Mortar.jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
The M-1943/M43 120 mm mortar family was documented as a mortar type in use in Syria during the 2011 Syrian Civil War.

Sources: AOAV M-1943 Mortars, AOAV Dirty Dozen Infographic, AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen

Syria had hundreds of M-1943 mortars shipped over time by Russia and Bulgaria.

Sources: AOAV M-1943 Mortars, AOAV Wide-Area Impact Report

Mortars were used by many parties to the Syrian Civil War, including the Syrian army and fighters allied to Islamic State.

Sources: AOAV Syrian-Jordanian Border Mortars

AOAV's public sources support weapon-family fielding and mortar fire-support use, but they do not identify a specific dated PM-43 firing incident by serial number, unit, or exact tube.

Sources: AOAV Syrian-Jordanian Border Mortars, AOAV M-1943 Mortars

Timeline

PM-43 In 2011 Syrian Civil War

  1. AOAV profiles M-1943/M43 use in Syria

    Action on Armed Violence published its Syria Dirty Dozen investigation and infographic, identifying the M-1943/M43 heavy mortar family in the conflict's manufactured explosive-weapons set.

    Sources: AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen, AOAV Dirty Dozen Infographic, AOAV Dirty Dozen M-1943 Video

  2. AOAV publishes Syria mortar case-study material

    AOAV's Wide-Area Impact mortar articles identified the M-1943 as one of the mortar types in use in Syria and described mortar use by the Syrian army and fighters allied to Islamic State.

    Sources: AOAV M-1943 Mortars, AOAV Syrian-Jordanian Border Mortars, AOAV Wide-Area Impact Report

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The PM-43 appears in the Syrian Civil War record under the M-1943/M43 designation used by Action on Armed Violence. AOAV's Syria Dirty Dozen project identified heavy mortars like the M-1943 as among the commonly used explosive weapons in the conflict and stated that both state and non-state actors regularly used mortars.

AOAV's later Wide-Area Impact mortar study gave the weapon-specific inventory link: it described the M-1943 as one of the mortar types in use in Syria, said Syria had hundreds that had been shipped over time by Russia and Bulgaria, and treated Syrian border-area mortar fire as part of the conflict's repeated use of inaccurate indirect-fire weapons.

Sources: AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen, AOAV M-1943 Mortars, AOAV Syrian-Jordanian Border Mortars

Timeline

On 23 September 2013, AOAV published its Syria Dirty Dozen investigation and accompanying M-1943/M43 profile, placing the heavy mortar family among manufactured explosive weapons used in Syria. On 2 March 2016, AOAV published its mortar case-study material for the Wide-Area Impact project, including a Syrian-Jordanian border overview and a weapon-focused M-1943/M43 article.

Sources: AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen, AOAV Dirty Dozen Infographic, AOAV M-1943 Mortars, AOAV Syrian-Jordanian Border Mortars

Battlefield role

In Syria, the supported role for the PM-43/M-1943 family is heavy mortar fire support by indirect fire. The weapon was relevant to the war because 120 mm mortars could be moved and fired from range while still reaching several kilometers, making them useful to forces fighting around towns, border areas, and other populated or semi-populated front lines.

AOAV's Syrian-Jordanian border overview attributed mortar use in the conflict to many parties, including the Syrian army and fighters allied to Islamic State. The same overview recorded that mortar fire originating inside Syria crossed into all five neighboring border countries and investigated fifteen Syrian-to-Jordanian strike impacts from 2012 to 2015, while noting that it was often difficult to verify the exact munition type in individual border strikes.

Sources: AOAV Syrian-Jordanian Border Mortars, AOAV M-1943 Mortars

Evidence limits

The strongest public claim is that the M-1943/M43 120 mm mortar family was in use in Syria and that mortars were used by Syrian government forces and Islamic State-aligned fighters. The available AOAV sources do not provide a dated firing log that ties a specific PM-43 tube to a named unit, target, or casualty incident.

This page therefore treats the PM-43 record as documented Syrian Civil War fielding and mortar fire-support use, not as proof that every AOAV-recorded mortar strike involved this exact model. The specific side assignment follows AOAV's attribution of mortar use to the Syrian army and fighters allied to Islamic State.

Sources: AOAV Syrian-Jordanian Border Mortars, AOAV M-1943 Mortars, AOAV Syria Dirty Dozen

Videos

PM-43 In 2011 Syrian Civil War

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Sources