ATP - MOSCOW,
Dec 23 (Reuters) - Russia's bombing of Syria may amount to a war crime because
of the number of civilians its strikes have killed, Amnesty International said
on Wednesday, presenting what it said was evidence that the air raids had
violated humanitarian law.
"Russian
air strikes in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians and caused massive
destruction in residential areas, striking homes, a mosque and a busy market,
as well as medical facilities, in...attacks that show evidence of violations of
international humanitarian law," Amnesty said in a new report.
Russia
started its campaign of air strikes against militants in Syria on Sept. 30,
saying it wanted to help the Kremlin's main Middle East ally, Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, defeat Islamic State and other militant groups.
It
has repeatedly and forcefully denied targeting civilians, saying it takes great
care to avoid bombing residential areas.
When
asked by Reuters to comment on the Amnesty allegations, the Russian Defence
Ministry said it had no immediate comment, while the Russian Foreign Ministry
said it first needed to study the report before giving any official reaction.
Amnesty,
whose charges echoed those of some Syrian observers, said Russian air strikes
had killed at least 200 civilians and around a dozen fighters from September to
November of this year.
It
said its report, which focused on six attacks in Homs, Idlib and Aleppo, was
based on interviews with witnesses and survivors, as well as on video evidence
and images showing the aftermath of attacks.
The
Russian strikes "appear to have directly attacked civilians or civilian
objects by striking residential areas with no evident military target and even
medical facilities," Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North
Africa programme at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
"Such
attacks may amount to war crimes," Luther said.
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