The Independent: US-led Coalition Accused of Killing Civilians Using ’Scorched Earth Policy’ in Syria

Lizzie Dearden

Members of the US-led coalition have been accused of deploying a "scorched earth policy" in Syria by activists who claim to have documented scores of civilian deaths.

One group of anti-"ISIS" activists, called Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, has said air strikes supporting a key offensive in Manbij are killing innocent families.

"The international coalition is using a scorched earth policy in the city and supporting the Syrian Democratic forces that have been surrounding the city for two months," the group said.

"The attacking militias and the international coalition have dealt with Manbij civilians, who are estimated to be around 3,000 in number, as if they were terrorists or Isis supporters," it added.

Allegations that two separate bombing raids killed at least 100 civilians in nearby villages in little over a week are already under investigation, but there was concern over continuing strikes supporting the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

British authorities say they have found no evidence of civilian casualties caused by British military action in Iraq or Syria, while a coalition spokesperson said forces "work very hard to... ensure the safety of non-combatants on the battlefield."

The bombardment of Manbij has destroyed its infrastructure, with electricity and water cut off and families forced to bury their loved ones in their gardens because local cemeteries are inaccessible.

"ISIS" is preventing civilians from leaving the city as the humanitarian situation worsens and the group's ranks are forced into an ever-shrinking residential target zone being pounded by air strikes and shelling.

The SDF are waging a campaign to re-capture the ISIS stronghold and swathes of countryside surrounding the city in hopes of choking the terrorist group's supply routes.

The offensive has been a resounding military success, with the past two months seeing SDF rebels rapidly advance across Isis territory and surround militants in the city center, but humanitarian groups say the cost has been high.

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently has received reports of civilians allegedly being shot by SDF snipers encircling the city and homes being hit by coalition air strikes.

Activists said there were claims the SDF had been giving commanders of the US-led coalition incorrect targets and unproven local suspicions that Kurdish groups in the military alliance were attempting to exact ethnic "retaliation" against local Arabs.

The "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights", a UK-based activist group, said hundreds of civilians had been killed since the Manbij offensive started in May, with tens of thousands of people displaced and many more besieged.

It has documented the death of 399 civilians in the area, including almost 100 children under the age of 18 and 50 women, and countless injuries.

Activists said 199 of those, including 52 children, 18 women and eight prisoners, were killed in air strikes by the US-led coalition on Manbij and the surrounding countryside.

American officials told The Independent some reports of collateral damage in air strikes against Isis were "not credible" but the number of alleged incidents has escalated dramatically since the start of the Manbij offensive.

In the same period, 200 civilians have been reported killed by battles between Isis and the SDF in shelling, sniper fire, machine guns and explosions.

Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in the city center, at risk of bombardment by the international coalition and prevented from escaping by "ISIS" fighters and IEDs planted to slow the SDF advance.

The humanitarian situation is worsening for those who remain with food and medical supplies running out as sanitary conditions decline, the United Nations has warned.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Manbij was one of three major areas of concern as Syria's bloody civil war continues.

"We understand the civilians in Manbij are in a dire position as they are trapped between the warring parties," he said, adding that his staff had received reports of serious violations including civilians being killed and injured by air strikes, shelling and mines.

"We don't know precisely how many civilians have been killed since the current campaign began, but we believe the number is in the dozens at least, and includes many women and children.

"Families are unable to access local cemeteries to bury their relatives who have died or been killed, and are burying them in their gardens or keeping the corpses in bunkers.

"The town has no electricity or water at present, and no medical facilities are known to be operating."

The High Commissioner urged forces advancing on Manbij and other parts of Syria to protect trapped civilians in what he said was becoming a "gigantic, devastated graveyard."

"The number of war crimes already committed surpasses the worst nightmares," he added. "But it is in the power of both attacking and defending forces - and their foreign backers - to minimize further civilian casualties and avoid further crimes and atrocities. They must do so."

Source: The Independent, Edited by website team