BEIRUT: Air strikes by a US-led coalition battling the Daesh group in east Syria killed nine civilians on Friday, a monitor said.
The Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by coalition airpower, has been fighting to oust Daesh from the pocket in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor since September.
“Air raids and artillery fire by the international coalition and the SDF are going on against neighborhoods of the town of Hajjin,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The air strikes “killed nine civilians, including six children, and two IS jihadists,” the Britain-based monitor said.
The coalition did not immediately comment on the alleged fatalities but has repeatedly said it does its utmost to avoid civilian casualties.
The SDF broke into the key Daesh holdout of Hajjin on Thursday after months of fighting that has seen the militants launch vicious counter-attacks.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces have advanced into more territory once held by Daesh and thwarted their multiple counter offensives,” US-led coalition spokesman Sean Ryan said Friday.
He said Daesh losses had been “very high” and that intelligence reported jihadists had tried to flee across the border to Iraq but were prevented by Iraqi forces.
In almost three months of battle, more than 820 militants and more than 480 US-backed fighters have been killed, the Observatory says.
More than 300 civilians have been killed in that period, it says, though the coalition insists it does not target non-combatants.
Daesh overran large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, declaring a “caliphate” across territories it controlled.
But various offensives in both countries have routed the militants from most of that land, crushing their dreams of statehood.
In Syria, the militants retain a presence in the vast Badia desert that stretches to the Iraqi border, as well as the pocket under attack around Hajjin.
Syria’s war has killed 360,000 people and displaced millions since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-regime protests.
US-led coalition strikes kill 9 civilians in east Syria
US-led coalition strikes kill 9 civilians in east Syria
- “Air raids and artillery fire by the international coalition and the SDF are going on against neighborhoods of the town of Hajjin,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
- The coalition did not immediately comment on the alleged fatalities but has repeatedly said it does its utmost to avoid civilian casualties
UN rights chief slams dangerous ‘tit-for-tat dynamic’ in Mideast war
- Turk deplored the extensive attacks in residential areas, on health facilities, schools, cultural property and water and energy infrastructure
- He stressed that “under the laws of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all costs“
GENEVA: The United Nations rights chief voiced alarm Tuesday at the Middle East conflict’s deepening impact on civilians, warning of the dangers of the seeming “tit-for-tat dynamic” between the warring sides.
The United States and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, prompting waves of Iranian strikes across the Gulf.
With hostilities intensifying, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk deplored the extensive attacks in residential areas, on health facilities, schools, cultural property and water and energy infrastructure.
“This apparent tit-for-tat dynamic, involving essential infrastructure with extremely significant civilian impacts, will only increase risks for civilian populations more broadly, with potentially dire consequences across the entire region,” he warned in a statement.
Turk stressed that “under the laws of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all costs.”
“All parties are bound by these rules, and must be held to account if they do not,” he said, warning: “the world is watching.”
The UN rights chief warned that “strikes against vital civilian infrastructure in the Middle East — as well as the widening geographic spread of strikes — are further increasing risks for populations across the region, and beyond.”
He pointed to strikes on a water desalination plant and fuel facilities in Iran over the weekend, igniting fires and reportedly disrupting water access for dozens of villages.
It also prompted warnings of “acid rain” that could cause chemical burns and serious lung damage.
“The foreseeable impacts on civilians and the environment of these strikes raise serious questions as to compliance of these attacks with the requirements of international humanitarian law of proportionality and precaution,” Turk said.
“This warrants careful legal scrutiny.”
He also highlighted the broader impact of the war.
The plunge in commercial shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz was taking a severe toll on access to energy, food and fertilizer across the region and beyond — hitting the world’s most vulnerable people the hardest.
Turk raised concern about reports of detentions, charges and other forms of repression and intimidation against people in a number of countries, in connection with their expression of opinions around the Middle East conflict.
He demanded that all those arbitrarily detained be released immediately and unconditionally.
“States are reminded of their obligation under international human rights law to respect and protect people’s right to freedom of expression — particularly in times of crisis,” he said.
