Amnesty: Assad’s attacks on Syrians may amount to war crimes
Amnesty International has said that Syrian regime attacks on Raqqa city have violated humanitarian law and should be investigated as war crimes.The organization used a new report released on Tuesday to publicize findings into the death of 115 civilians, including 14 children, in regime aerial attacks on Raqqa - a stronghold of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Syria - which took place between 11 and 29 of November 2014.The attacks targeted a mosque, which was not affiliated with military activity, and a crowded market place."Syrian government forces have shown flagrant disregard for the rules of war in these ruthless airstrikes. Some of these attacks give every indication of being war crimes," Philip Luther, director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Program, said."They have carried out repeated attacks on civilian areas without clearly identifying military targets," Luther added, accusing the Damascus regime of "a blatant violation of the requirement to distinguish between civilians and military targets."The report rejected Syrian authorities' claims of targeting ISIS bases in Raqqa, saying that according the gathered evidence, no military targets could be identified in the attack areas.According to the report, regime forces targeted a mosque and residential buildings.One eyewitness was quoted as saying: "It was a disaster, it is the main market in al-Raqqa and is usually packed with people during the day, I saw body parts everywhere. I carried 40 bodies to cars, ambulances and pick-ups that transferred them to [hospitals]. I saw at least 50 people with severe and minor injuries."Luther said that both ISIS and the Assad regime had committed crimes against civilians in Syria and the situation should be referred to the International Criminal Court.
Last Update: March 17, 2015 15:23