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Getty Images / Oleg Nikishin Amnesty Int’l Says Russian Airstrikes Are Killing
But human rights group say the pattern of attacks suggests Russian Federation is flouting worldwide humanitarian law and that it may even amount to war crimes. But Haq added that the United Nations “cannot independently confirm the cases presented” in the report.
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Some Russian strikes “seem to have attacked military objectives and civilian objects without distinction, or caused disproportionate harm to civilians when striking military targets”, Amnesty said in the report.
Shoebridge insists that “some degree of civilian casualties” is nearly inevitable from any aerial campaign even with the most precise weapons, but says that even people witnessing the attacks on the ground can’t point to the perpetrator with any degree of certainty.
If verified these attacks could imply a violation of global human rights laws.
“Why does Amnesty International put the emphasis on the Russian action? We’re calling on Russian Federation to exercise caution and to abide by global humanitarian law”.
When asked by Reuters to comment on the Amnesty allegations, the Russian Defense 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.
This is the main conclusion of a report released today, 23 December, by Amnesty International.
In addition, Amnesty “obtained and reviewed audiovisual imagery” relating to the attacks and “commissioned advice from weapons experts”.
Moscow argues that its air force is only striking terrorist targets.
He particularly criticized the group’s claim that the Russian strikes targeted areas where there were no militants, saying Amnesty had no way of knowing that.
The rights group says such action could amount to war crimes. “In just a few moments, people were screaming, the smell of burning was in the air and there was just chaos”. Local activist Mohammed Qurabi al-Ghazal told Amnesty he was nearby when the market was hit, and that while armed group Jaysh al-Fateh controls areas around Ariha it has no presence inside the town.
He saw one woman sitting and crying beside 40 bodies lined up in a row. A mother and her two children were killed in one house and a young couple in another house. “To this day, I can not get over it”.
David Cenciotti, who runs The Aviationist website, said Russia’s Su-24 and 25 bombers have made “significant use of unguided fragmentation bombs…”
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The majority of the Russian attacks were in and around the Syrian cities of Idlib, Homs and Aleppo.