The international anti-ISIS coalition forces committed more massacres than any other party to the conflict in Syria during the month of May, a monitoring group said. Anti-ISIS coalition forces were responsible for 14 out of the 34 massacres the group recorded across Syria, most of which took place in the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.
In its monthly report released on Tuesday, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that 9 massacres were committed by regime forces in May, one by the Russian forces, 14 by the international coalition forces, 5 by the ISIS extremist group, 2 by militias of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and 3 by groups the Network said it could not identify.
The report said that the number of massacres committed by regime forces in May is as high as previous months. The international anti-ISIS coalition forces continue with their fierce bombing campaign on Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces for the third consecutive month, SNHR said, adding that the bombing campaign has considerably intensified in May compared to the two previous months.
The Network went on to say that massacres carried out in May claimed the lives of at least 404 people, including 143 children and 90 women, representing around 58% of the total number of victims. This high percentage indicates that the bombing is targeting mainly the civilian population, the watchdog group said. (Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)