ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Airstrikes in Syria by the US-led coalition may have killed some 300 civilians over the past two years, Amnesty International said in a report on Wednesday.
The rights watchdog said that 11 coalition attacks examined by it “appear to have killed some 300 civilians during two years of strikes targeting” ISIS.
“US-led Coalition forces carrying out air strikes in Syria must conduct thorough investigations into reports of civilian casualties from its operations and disclose their findings,” Amnesty said.
“So far the US authorities have provided no response to a memorandum Amnesty International sent to the US Department of Defense on 28 September 2016 to raise questions about the conduct of Coalition forces in Syria,” it said.
“The memorandum compiles and analyzes information from various sources, including eyewitnesses to attacks, which suggests that US Central Command (CENTCOM), which directs Coalition forces in Syria, may have failed to take necessary precautions to spare civilians and carried out unlawful attacks that have killed and injured civilians,” Amnesty added.
“It’s high time the US authorities came clean about the full extent of the civilian damage caused by Coalition attacks in Syria,” it said.
