The strikes appeared to have been a mistake, with the civilians taken for Islamic State militants, the United Kingdom -based human rights group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group told the AFP news agency. And that they were from coalition planes.
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In a statement, the president of the Syrian opposition coalition, Anas Alabdah, said the bloodshed indicates “a major loophole in the current operational rules followed by the global coalition in conducting strikes in populated areas”.
The SDF has been waging a major campaign since late May to oust IS from Manbij, in Aleppo province, with US-led air support.
“We are aware of reports alleging civilian casualties near Manbij, Syria, recently”. If it is confirmed that 200 people were killed, it would be the deadliest strike by the us -led coalition since it began its military campaign against IS in Syria nearly two years ago.
Activists are claiming the USA -led anti-ISIS coalition killed as many as 160 Syrian civilians after mistaking them for ISIS fighters.
The air strikes in the area are aimed at supporting a ground operation by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish and Arab alliance which is trying to drive Isis out of Manbij.
Jan Egeland, the head of the UN-backed humanitarian task force for Syria, said civilians were “on the brink of starvation” and warned that “the clock is ticking”.
Reacting to the reports of the civilian fatalities, the French Foreign Ministry has said it does not recognize the figures released by the Syrian government and would wait for the results of an investigation conducted by the US-led coalition itself. The 77 civilian deaths included at least 11 children.
SDF fighters control around a quarter of Manbij, according to the Observatory.
Citing accounts from local activists and documentary evidence, Amnesty International said airstrikes on nearby al-Tukhar village Monday and Tuesday killed at least 60 men, women and children in their homes.
Near Aleppo, meanwhile, government forces sought to tighten their siege of rebel-held districts of the battleground second city.
Carter said coalition backed forces “have now surrounded Manbij city, which is one of the last junctions connecting Raqqa to the outside world and a key transit point for external plotters threatening our homelands”.
The Observatory said fierce clashes were under way around Handarat Camp, which is less than two kilometres (barely a mile) from the northern outskirts of the city.
“‘Mistakes are likely to happen, ‘ Saleh said he was told at the time”. There were also conflicting reports on where the civilians were killed, with some groups reporting that a school housing refugees was hit and others saying that people were struck as they fled the violence.
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It said relief supplies had already been stockpiled in the city, but “further life-saving aid is needed urgently”.
