‘U.S.-Led Strikes Record Highest Civilian Toll in Syria’
BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – A coalition of military forces allegedly fighting Daesh and other terror groups in Syria under the leadership of the United States have killed more civilians in a matter of a month since it began three years ago.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group mostly advocating anti-government forces in the war in Syria, said on Tuesday that the U.S.-led coalition killed a total of 225 civilians between April 23 and May 23, the highest 30-day toll since the campaign began in 2014.
"There has been a very big escalation ... The past month of operations is the highest civilian toll since the coalition began bombing Syria,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Abdel Rahman said the previous record of casualties left by the air strikes by U.S. and allies in Syria belonged to the period between February 23 and March 23 this year when 220 civilians were killed.
He said some 1,481 people, including 319 children, have been killed as a result of the coalition campaign, which lacks any approval from the Syrian government.
The U.S. and allies formed the coalition earlier in 2014 to fight Daesh in neighboring Iraq, but they later expanded it to include territories in east and north of Syria. Damascus, which itself is busy fighting terrorists on multiple fronts, condemned the decision at the time, saying it violated Syria’s territorial integrity. The Syrian government has never sought assistance from the West as it insists that Washington and allies in Europe have helped the surge in terrorism in the Arab country by providing direct finance and weaponry to certain terrorist groups.
The U.S. military has admitted that the attacks in Syria have claimed hundreds of civilian lives, although Washington rejects figures provided by monitors on the ground and always tries to cut back on the number of the casualties. It said earlier this month that 352 had been "unintentionally” killed since the campaign began.
The coalition attacks in Syria have also inflicted losses on Syrian government forces and loyalist fighters. Abdel Rahman said eight such fighters were killed in coalition bombing raids between April 23 and May 23.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group mostly advocating anti-government forces in the war in Syria, said on Tuesday that the U.S.-led coalition killed a total of 225 civilians between April 23 and May 23, the highest 30-day toll since the campaign began in 2014.
"There has been a very big escalation ... The past month of operations is the highest civilian toll since the coalition began bombing Syria,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Abdel Rahman said the previous record of casualties left by the air strikes by U.S. and allies in Syria belonged to the period between February 23 and March 23 this year when 220 civilians were killed.
He said some 1,481 people, including 319 children, have been killed as a result of the coalition campaign, which lacks any approval from the Syrian government.
The U.S. and allies formed the coalition earlier in 2014 to fight Daesh in neighboring Iraq, but they later expanded it to include territories in east and north of Syria. Damascus, which itself is busy fighting terrorists on multiple fronts, condemned the decision at the time, saying it violated Syria’s territorial integrity. The Syrian government has never sought assistance from the West as it insists that Washington and allies in Europe have helped the surge in terrorism in the Arab country by providing direct finance and weaponry to certain terrorist groups.
The U.S. military has admitted that the attacks in Syria have claimed hundreds of civilian lives, although Washington rejects figures provided by monitors on the ground and always tries to cut back on the number of the casualties. It said earlier this month that 352 had been "unintentionally” killed since the campaign began.
The coalition attacks in Syria have also inflicted losses on Syrian government forces and loyalist fighters. Abdel Rahman said eight such fighters were killed in coalition bombing raids between April 23 and May 23.