HRW: US-led Coalition Airstrikes Killed 84 Civilians near Raqqa

Local Editor

The US-led coalition killed at least 84 civilians, 30 children among them, when it carried out two lethal airstrikes near Syria's Raqqa in March, HRW said, adding that "no precautions" to minimize civilian losses were taken.

"In the two deadliest attacks, the US-led coalition struck a school and a market killing at least 84 civilians," including 30 children, Human Rights Watch [HRW] said in a 42-page report released on Monday, adding that the coalition did not take adequate precautions to minimize civilian casualties.

"Although ISIS [Daesh: the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri ‘ISIL/ISIS' group] fighters were also at these sites, the high civilian death toll raises concerns that military forces of the US-led coalition failed to take necessary precautions to avoid and minimize civilian casualties, a requirement under international humanitarian law," it added.

The rights group said that the conclusions of the report, entitled ‘All Feasible Precautions? Civilian Casualties in Anti-Daesh Coalition Airstrikes in Syria,' are based on an on-the-ground investigation into the attacks.

"The coalition should conduct thorough, prompt, and impartial investigations of the attacks, do everything feasible to prevent similar attacks, and provide compensation or condolence payments to people who suffered losses due to the coalition's operations," according to HRW.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team