As military operations by the Assad regime forces and its Russian ally continue to target rebel-held areas across Syria, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that it had recorded no fewer than 11 massacres in Syria in May 2018.
In a new report issued on Thursday, the Network said that the massacres claimed the lives of 103 civilians, including 45 children and 28 women, noting that the women and children accounted for 71 per cent of the total number of victims.
The rights group pointed out that the Assad regime and Russian forces as well as the international anti-ISIS coalition forces were responsible for the majority of the massacres that took place in May. It noted that the figure brought to 171 the number of massacres that have taken place in Syria since the beginning of 2018.
The bombing campaign being launched by the international anti-ISIS coalition also killed many civilians in May, SNHR said. Amnesty International said that the coalition forces did not take the necessary precautions to protect civilians. It noted that Article 23 of the Hague Convention states that precaution must be taken to ensure that the possible collateral damage must not outweigh the anticipated military advantages.
The Syrian Coalition condemned the violations being committed against civilians in Syria, calling on the international community to put an end to the war crimes being committed by the Assad regime forces and international coalition forces. It stressed that military escalation in Syria risks impeding political solution and violates all human rights conventions. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
