Syria opposition urges suspension of US-led airstrikes after civilian deaths
Opposition groups in Syria have called on the US and allies to suspend airstrikes following the deaths of some 140 civilians in Aleppo in French and American air raids.
The so-called Syrian National Coalition (SNC) on Thursday called for a temporary halt to the aerial campaign while an investigation is completed into the civilian deaths in the northern city of Manbij.
“It is essential that such investigation not only result in revised rules of procedure for future operations, but also inform accountability for those responsible for such major violations,” SNC president Anas al-Abdah said.
According to the Syrian Foreign Ministry, French warplanes targeted the village of Tukhan al-Kubra in Manbij on Tuesday, killing 120 civilians. The fatalities came a day after a US airstrike killed 20 civilians in Manbij, it said.
Some local reports have put the death toll at around 200.
The French Foreign Ministry has said it does not recognize figures released by the Syrian government and would wait for the results of the investigation into the airstrike.
President Francois Hollande also said he had no precise information on the French air force’s responsibility for the civilian deaths.
The Syrian government has written to the United Nations, asking the world body to condemn the airstrikes which are carried out without authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.
Abdah, the president of the SNC, said in his statement that the civilian fatalities of the recent strikes could “prove to be a recruitment tool” for Daesh.
The so-called Free Syrian Army, another opposition group, called the fatalities of the US-led airstrikes “shocking massacres.”
“We will not allow any crime to be justified under the pretext of combating terrorism,” it said in a statement signed by more than 30 militant factions.
Foreign-backed groups themselves stand accused of terrorist activities. One such group, regarded as “moderate” by the US, was recently revealed to have beheaded a Palestinian child in Syria.
The UN children agency UNICEF and UK-based rights group Amnesty International have sharply criticized the airstrikes.
The US-led coalition has been backing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces, to capture Manbij since last May.
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