The Syrian Coalition accused Russia of committing war crimes against Syrian civilians since the beginning of its military intervention, the latest of which was the massacre the Russian air force committed in the town of al-Jaradi in eastern Deir Ezzor claiming the lives of 23 civilians.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Coalition held Russia directly and fully responsible for the war crimes its forces have been committing against civilians across Syrian and for supporting genocide and the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons and other banned weapons.
“Syria continues to witness more killings of civilians by the Russian occupation forces. The Syrian people now view the international community as an accomplice as it remains silent about these crimes,” the Coalition said.
According to local activists, Russian jets on Tuesday (December 5) bombed the town of Al-Jaradi, killing 23 people, mostly from one family and wounding dozens more. The victims included many women and children.
The airstrikes targeted a residential neighborhood, commercial shops near the town’s mosque, and a bus carrying displaced persons fleeing the brutal indiscriminate airstrikes that do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The Coalition stressed that “this massacre, along with the litany of other massacres, constitutes blatant violation of international conventions on the protection of civilians and their safety in wartime. Under international law, these crimes must be investigated and their perpetrators must be held accountable as they are classified as deliberate targeting of civilians.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
