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'Staggering' civilian deaths from US-led airstrikes in Raqqa, says UN 'Staggering' loss of civilian life from US-led airstrikes in Raqqa, says UN
(35 minutes later)
Intensified coalition airstrikes supporting an assault by US-backed forces on Islamic State’s stronghold of Raqqa in Syria are causing a “staggering loss of civilian life”, United Nations war crimes investigators have said. UN war crimes investigators have denounced a “staggering loss of civilian life” caused by the US-backed campaign to reclaim Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of Kurdish and Arab militias supported by a US-led coalition, began to attack Raqqa a week ago to take it from the jihadis. The SDF, supported by heavy coalition airstrikes, have taken territory to the west, east and north of the city. The independent commission of inquiry tasked with investigating violations of international law, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria said the intensification of airstrikes by the United States-led coalition had led to large numbers of civilians being killed or fleeing the city.
“We note in particular that the intensification of air strikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced,” Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the UN commission of inquiry told the human rights council. The Raqqa operation began last week with a ground assault by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group comprised of Kurdish and Arab militiamen armed by the US, and supported by coalition airstrikes.
Pinheiro provided no figure for civilian casualties in Raqqa, where rival forces are racing to capture ground from Isis. The Syrian army is also advancing on the desert area west of the city. They have already pushed into Raqqa from the east and west, reportedly approaching the old city walls. Citizens have reported intense combat in areas of the city.
Separately, Human Rights Watch expressed concern in a statement about the use of incendiary white phosphorous weapons by the US-led coalition fighting Isis in Iraq and Syria, saying it endangered civilians when used in populated areas. “We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced,” Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the UN commission of inquiry told the human rights council in Geneva.
In its speech to the 47-member forum in Geneva, the US delegation made no reference to Raqqa or the airstrikes. US diplomat Jason Mack called the Syrian government “the primary perpetrator” of egregious human rights violations in the country. The civilian cost of the campaign was highlighted last week when footage emerged of coalition planes deploying white phosphorus in the city, which is home to tens of thousands of civilians, prisoners of war and enslaved Yazidi women, and around a few thousand Isis militants.
Pinheiro said that if the international coalition’s offensive is successful, it could liberate Raqqa’s civilian population, including Yazidi women and girls, “whom the group has kept sexually enslaved for almost three years as part of an ongoing and unaddressed genocide”. “The imperative to fight terrorism must not, however, be undertaken at the expense of civilians who unwillingly find themselves living in areas where Isil is present,” Pinheiro added, using an alternative acronym for Isis.
“The imperative to fight terrorism must not, however, be undertaken at the expense of civilians who unwillingly find themselves living in areas where ISIL is present,” he added. Human Rights Watch urged the coalition separately on Wednesday to exercise great caution when using white phosphorus, saying it could cause “horrific and long-lasting harm” in crowded cities like Raqqa, and that such powerful incendiary munitions should never be used in populated areas.
Pinheiro also said that 10 agreements between the Syrian government and armed groups to evacuate fighters and civilians from besieged areas, including eastern Aleppo last December, “in some cases amount to war crimes” as civilians had “no choice”. The use of white phosphorus drew strong condemnation last week, and raised concerns that the coalition was not taking adequate precautions to protect civilian lives.
Syria’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Hussam Edin Aaala, denounced violations “committed by the unlawful US-led coalition which targets infrastructure, killing hundreds of civilians including the deaths of 30 civilians in Deir al-Zor”. While the success of the campaign would free civilians in Raqqa from the yoke of Isis, many face the prospect of death by coalition airpower or because of their use as human shields by the militants, a common tactic in their defence of their stronghold in Mosul across the border. Some 18% of people in Raqqa province have been displaced in the campaign to retake the city, according to UN figures.
People living in Isis areas are also subject to inconsistent screening procedures to determine if they are sympathisers with the militant group.
Those who do survive or flee also face uncertain prospects of survival, due to the limited access to the area for humanitarian organisations. Turkey to the north has refused to allow much aid to flow across the border and into areas controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia, which is part of the SDF, because Ankara considers it a terrorist group affiliated with its own Kurdish insurgency.
The UN has also had limited access to the area due to restrictions on their movement. By contrast, prior to the campaign to reclaim Mosul, aid organisation were able to set up camps to house tens of thousands of displaced people.