News / Syria

US airstrikes kill 20 civilians in Syria's Raqqah

Sunday, 28 May 2017 9:46 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 28 May 2017 10:36 AM ]

A French Rafale fighter jet prepares to take off from the deck of France's aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle in the Mediterranean Sea on December 9, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

At least 20 civilians have been killed and 20 others injured in fresh airstrikes conducted by the US against southern outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqah, a London-based monitor says.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Sunday the casualties came after warplanes attacked civilian buses leaving Raqqah, which is held by the Daesh terrorist group.

On Thursday, the US carried out similar air raids on the city of Mayadin in Dayr al-Zawr Province, with the observatory saying at least 106 civilians, including 42 children, had been killed in the attacks.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates wrote to the UN on Saturday, calling for the cessation of "illegal" attacks that "blatantly contradict the UN Security Council’s resolutions, international law, and international humanitarian law."

In two letters addressed to UN chief Antonio Guteres and the world body’s Security Council, the ministry denounced the US-led campaign "against Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity under the pretext of combating terrorism."

The airstrikes, it said, "only contribute to spreading chaos and destruction" and benefit terror outfits such as Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham operating in the Arab country.

A member of the Syrian government forces stands on the rubble of destroyed buildings on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, May 13, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Syria wrote similar letters earlier, condemning the May 15 US strikes that killed a total of 57 people in al-Ekirshi village of Raqqah Province and the city of Abu Kamal in Dayr al-Zawr Province.

The air raids do not target terrorists and their allies, but rather civilians, enabling militants to commit more crimes in Syria, the letters read.

Read more:

Syria censures deadly US strikes on civilians

The US has been conducting airstrikes against what it calls Daesh positions inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

According to latest figures released by SOHR, airstrikes by the US and its allies left a total of 225 civilians dead in Syria between April 23 and May 23 alone.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk