A US -backed force fighting to drive Islamic State out of Manbij said on Thursday it was giving the jihadist group 48 hours to pull out of the surrounded northern Syrian city.
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Conflicting numbers in the aftermath of attacks are not uncommon in Syria.
Airstrikes blamed by residents of the area on the USA -led coalition killed dozens of civilians early Tuesday in the northern village of Tokhar, according to activists and monitoring groups.
In a statement distributed Thursday, UNICEF says dozens of children were among those killed in and around the town of Manbij, where airstrikes blamed on the US -led coalition killed scores of people in the past few days. As of Wednesday afternoon, the headline “Dozens of Civilians Reported Dead in U-S”.
Defence Ministers from more than 30 countries have reviewed and agreed upon the next steps for taking on the Islamic State terror group in its final strongholds.
Clashes and air strikes continued Thursday in Manbij, where SDF forces advanced overnight, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He said that civilians in the area had relocated to al-Tukhar to seek shelter from airstrikes in Manjib, where some 2000,000 civilians are believed to be living under siege.
“There must be a prompt, independent and transparent investigation to determine what happened, who was responsible, and how to avoid further needless loss of civilian life”, said interim Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program Magdalena Mughrabi on the Amnesty International website.
French President Francois Hollande said on July 21 that he had no precise information on whether French planes were responsible for the air strike in Manbij. It said the strike was conducted by French warplanes. However, they were certain the bombs hit an Isis group and refuted any claims that civilians had died.
The strikes, on Tuesday morning, targeted the villages of Tokhar and Hoshariyeh.
“We ask all Syrians, whatever their affiliations or sects, and all free people of the world and especially the people of Manbij to stand in solidarity with our devastated city on Sunday, July 24”, wrote one page that publishes local news about Manbij.
The Pentagon’s internal news service, Stars and Stripes, reported Tuesday that the Department of Defense is investigating the killings.
“Anyone responsible for violations of worldwide humanitarian law must be brought to justice and victims and their families should receive full reparation”, Amnesty’s interim Middle East director Magdalena Mughrabi said. The city has seen fierce fighting as the Syrian Arab Coalition, backed by US and coalition airpower, attempts to oust ISIS from a city it uses for access to the Turkish border.
The strikes took place near where USA -backed Kurdish and Arab forces are battling ISIS.
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“In Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL [Islamic State] targets”, the release stated on Friday.
