Beirut: Amnesty International on Wednesday said Russian air raids have killed hundreds of civilians in Syria, many in targeted strikes that could constitute war crimes, since beginning nearly three months ago.
Some attacks “appear to have directly attacked civilians or civilian objects by striking residential areas with no evident military target and even medical facilities, resulting in deaths and injuries to civilians”, Amnesty Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said in a statement.
“Such attacks may amount to war crimes,” he said, adding that it “is crucial that suspected violations are independently and impartially investigated”. The London-based ri-ghts group said there is “evidence suggesting that Russian authorities may have lied to cover up civilian damage to a mosque from one air strike and a field hospital in another”.
The report focuses on attacks in Homs, Idlib and Aleppo provinces between September and November, which killed at least 200 civilians.
