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| Russian airstrikes in Syria (Image: Global Post) |
Reuters,
Al-Arabiya - MOSCOW: Russia’s bombing of Syria may amount to a war crime
because of the number of civilians its strikes have killed, Amnesty
International said on Wednesday, presenting what it said was evidence that the
air raids had violated humanitarian law.
“Russian air
strikes in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians and caused massive
destruction in residential areas, striking homes, a mosque and a busy market,
as well as medical facilities, in...attacks that show evidence of violations of
international humanitarian law,” Amnesty said in a new report.
Russia started
its campaign of air strikes against militants in Syria on Sept. 30, saying it
wanted to help the Kremlin’s main Middle East ally, Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, defeat Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other militant
groups.
It has
repeatedly and forcefully denied targeting civilians, saying it takes great
care to avoid bombing residential areas.
When asked by
Reuters to comment on the Amnesty allegations, the Russian Defence Ministry
said it had no immediate comment, while the Russian Foreign Ministry said it
first needed to study the report before giving any official reaction.
Amnesty, whose
charges echoed those of some Syrian observers, said Russian air strikes had
killed at least 200 civilians and around a dozen fighters from September to
November of this year.
It said its
report, which focused on six attacks in Homs, Idlib and Aleppo, was based on
interviews with witnesses and survivors, as well as on video evidence and
images showing the aftermath of attacks.
The Russian
strikes “appear to have directly attacked civilians or civilian objects by
striking residential areas with no evident military target and even medical
facilities,” Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa
programme at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
“Such attacks
may amount to war crimes,” Luther said.
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