HASAKAH (Xinhua) – Syrians slammed a recent Pentagon inquiry which rejects accusation that the United States covered up civilian deaths in Syria, saying the United States has been targeting civilians in Syria for long.
In the government-controlled parts of the northeastern province of Hasakah, where the United States has several bases in the Kurdish-controlled zones, Syrians expressed dismay and anger at the Pentagon’s claims that U.S. forces were not responsible for a massacre that took place in the town of Baghuz in the eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr r in 2019.
They accused the United States of violating human rights, stealing Syrian resources and endangering the lives of civilians.
Many had even witnessed innocent civilians living in northern and northeastern Syria being killed by U.S. strikes allegedly targeting Daesh terrorists.
Ghaleb al-Anzi, a displaced man from the countryside of Dayr al-Zawr, told Xinhua that the United States does not care about protecting civilians in Syria since he had witnessed what it did.
Abdulkarim Dlaimy, another displaced man living in Hasakah, told Xinhua that he was displaced because of the U.S. strikes in northeastern Syria, adding that there is no safety in U.S.-controlled areas.
Ghassan Khalil, the governor of Hasakah, told Xinhua that the United States had leveled several towns in northern and northeastern Syria without any consideration for the civilians living there.
Syria has firmly rejected a Pentagon report that the U.S. military was not at fault for a 2019 deadly airstrike targeting civilians in Dayr al-Zawr, saying American forces must pay for their atrocities and immediately withdraw from the country.
In an executive summary of the U.S. airstrike on March 18, 2019, the Pentagon said the attack, which was claimed to have targeted an encampment for Daesh terrorists in the eastern city of Baghuz and resulted in the deaths of some 70 people, including civilians, did not violate rules of engagement or laws of war.
The summary found that the strike ordered at the behest of the U.S.-allied militants from the Kurdish-led so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) demonstrated awareness for non-combatants, even though “civilians were within the blast radius resulting in CIVCAS,” or civilian casualties.
Reacting to the Pentagon report, Syria’s permanent mission to the United Nations told Newsweek that Damascus viewed the deadly attack in Baghuz as one of many perpetrated as part of what the government considered an illegitimate campaign since Syria’s own armed forces conducted counter-terrorism operations with help from Russia and Iran.