A local rights group said that it had documented more than 1,400 attacks by Russian forces on civilians and civilian infrastructure since the start of the Russian direct military intervention on the side of the Assad regime in September 30, 2015.
According to a report by the Syrian Archive, the monitoring of Russian airstrikes in Syria over the past three years showed a pattern of indiscriminate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Based on analysis of 3,303 videos showing Russian air strikes obtained from 116 sources between September 30, 2015 and September 9, 2018, the Syrian Archive said that 1,418 of these attacks targeted civilian areas and civilian infrastructure with little or no military presence.
The Syrian Archive documents the history of the Syrian revolution and backs up videos that were mostly published on YouTube. The Berlin-based organization has created a database of videos of Russian attacks since Russia announced its military intervention in Syria to support the Assad regime in 2015.
The report is based on videos that were published by the Russian Ministry of Defense as well as videos published by human rights organizations, civilians and journalists.
The Syrian Archive said that it has documented no fewer than 704 Russian attacks causing civilian casualties since September 30, 2015.
Videos that were verified by the Syrian Archive showed that the Russian forces targeted at least 35 hospitals, 27 mosques, 23 schools and 27 public markets.
In one incident, the Russian Defense Ministry published a video showing the targeting of an oil refinery. But further investigation showed that the targeted facility was a water treatment facility. The Syrian Archive also said that it counted 63 attacks involving the use of cluster munitions and 39 incidents involving the use of incendiary bombs.
Hadi al-Khatib, founder of the Syrian Archive, said that the searchable database was necessary to “promote justice,” adding that the database could help in the filing of lawsuits against perpetrators of violence.
“The most important thing in the report is the promotion of justice,” Khatib said, adding: “Lawyers can use this kind of material and strengthen it with other evidence when filing lawsuits.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
