Stephen O’Brien, the UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, called for an inquiry into the attack on the Kammouna camp in the northern province of Idlib.
“If this obscene attack is found to be a deliberate targeting of a civilian structure, it could amount to a war crime,” O’Brien stressed.
“The suspicion will fall initially on the Syrian government and we will want to make sure that they, or whoever it is, are fully held to account for this absolutely abominable act,” O’Brien told reporters on Friday.
“Be in no doubt that all these terrible acts, wherever they happen and whoever perpetrates them, will not be forgotten and the people who perpetrate them will be held to account.”
At least 30 people were killed and dozens wounded in the airstrikes on the camp on Thursday.
Activists published images showing the aftermath of the attacks with fires raging among the blue tents in the camp, smouldering tents and body parts strewn around the area.
The White House called the strike indefensible. “There was no justifiable excuse to target civilians who had already fled their homes from violence,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, calling the situation heartbreaking.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the attack was “horrifying,” adding that “the Assad regime’s contempt for efforts to restore the cessation of hostilities in Syria is clear for all to see.”
“This attack took place against the backdrop of a concert in Palmyra, a tasteless attempt to distract attention from the continued suffering of millions of Syrians. It shows that there are no depths to which the regime will not sink. It is time for those with influence over Assad to say enough is enough,” Hammond added.
President of the Syrian Coalition Anas al-Abdah said that Syria’s butcher Bashar al-Assad continues to commit massacres against civilians in Syria, the latest of which took place right under the nose of the international community in the IDP Kammouna camp, the sponsor of the truce between the tyrant Assad and the Syrian people. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Agencies)
