UN Probe Concludes Russian Bombings Were War Crimes in Syria

(Bloomberg) -- Russia's military conducted “indiscriminate” bombardments against civilians in Syria last year, and human rights violations in the nine-year-old conflict continue to multiply, according to a United Nations panel investigating the conflict.

In one attack last year, Russian airstrikes targeted a compound of displaced civilians in a rural area that was surrounded by agricultural fields in southern Idlib, according to a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria. The attack killed 20 people, including eight women, one of whom was pregnant, and six children, the report published Monday found. People interviewed by the panel said there were no military targets nearby.

The report marks the first time that a UN panel directly accused Russia of a role in targeting civilians in rebel-controlled areas in Syria. In addition to the rural shelter, the report identified Russia as responsible for a “double-tap” bombing of a crowded market place, killing scores of civilians as well as a medical worker who rushed to the site of the first bombing on July 22.

The Russian Ministry of Defense denied that its aircraft had been present in the area, the report said, but the UN panel said the data was convincing.

“Based on the evidence available, including witness testimonies, video footage, data imagery as well as reports by flight spotters, flight communication intercepts and early warning observation reports, the Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that a Russian aircraft participated in the attacks, the UN panel said. “In both incidents, the Russian Air Force did not direct the attacks at a specific military objective, amounting to the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas.”

Russia has had a strong hand in backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's efforts to consolidate power since entering the conflict on Assad's behalf in 2015. Moscow's involvement helped turn the tide in the conflict just as Assad's regime appeared to be nearing a breaking point.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate and record all violations of international law since March 2011. The report is scheduled to be presented on March 10 at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Wainer in New York at dwainer3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert

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