Amnesty International: Russia committing war crimes in Syria - Eli Leon and Israel Hayom Staff

by Eli Leon and Israel Hayom Staff

Human rights group says Russia is committing some of the most "egregious" war crimes in decades, with warplanes not only intentionally targeting civilians and aid workers in Syria, but then "looping around" and attacking those trying to treat the victims.

Aerial footage released Feb. 15 by Russia's Defense Ministry shows airstrikes hitting what it said were Islamic State oil storage facilities in Syria | Photo credit: Reuters

As the Syrian civil war rages on, Amnesty International on Sunday accused Russia of committing some of the most "egregious" war crimes seen in decades by intentionally bombing civilians.

The international human rights organization said Russian warplanes have not only targeted civilians and aid workers in Syria over the last week, but have been deliberately attacking those attempting to treat the victims.

 

Tirana Hassan, director of Amnesty's crisis response program, told Sky News: "We've documented strikes on schools, strikes on hospitals and civilian homes. And one of the most egregious parts of what Russia and the Syrian forces are doing is that they're bombing these civilian targets when it itself is a war crime.

"But then [the warplanes] have been looping around -- and this is a consistent report, that there are second bombardments -- which are then injuring and killing humanitarian workers and just civilians who are going in to evacuate the wounded and the dead."

Eli Leon and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=31915

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