Russian forces 'kill almost 2,000 children' in Syria since intervention in conflict

Russia has killed almost 7,000 civilians, according to a report released on the fourth anniversary of the start of Moscow’s military intervention in Syria.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

30 September, 2019

Russian forces targeted civilian infrastructure in Syria (AFP)

Russia has killed almost 7,000 civilians, according to a report released by The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) on the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia’s military intervention in Syria.

The report emphasised that Russia cannot be "trusted in any political or reconstruction process after committing hundreds of war crimes", and pointed out that there has been no apology or compensation for its victims.

The network documented the deaths of 6,686 civilians, including 1,928 children and 908 women, at the hands of Russian forces since the start of Russia's military intervention in Syria in September 2015.

According to analysis carried out by SNHR, the first two years of the intervention seeing the largest death toll of victims.

Civilian casualties were concentrated in Aleppo governorate, followed by Idlib and Deir az-Zour.

The report also documents at least 1,083 attacks on civilian infrastructure, including 201 on schools and 190 on medical facilities.

Among those civilians killed were 107 medical and Civil Defence personnel (or White Helmets), in addition to 21 journalists and media activists.

The report also cites statistics on the use of cluster munitions by Russian forces, which amounted to at least 236 attacks, in addition to 125 attacks with incendiary weapons.

As the report explains, the escalating violence practiced by Russian forces along with regime forces, lead to the forced displacement of approximately 3.3 million people.

"We cannot trust any political settlement process sponsored or supervised by Russia, which has, since the early days, supported the Syrian regime in its brutal operations and crimes against humanity," Fadel Abdul Ghany, Chairman of the SNHR said.

"Russia is implicated in war crimes and must apologize for these crimes, then repair what it destroyed, compensate the victims, and stop supporting the dynastic dictatorship of one family in Syria; after that, political transition towards democracy, human rights and the reconstruction and stability of Syria and its society can be discussed."