Turkish, Russian War Crimes Confirmed in Syria // FAI ONLINE

Turkish-backed Syrian Arab fighters man a checkpoint in the Kurdish-majority city of Afrin in northwestern Syria after seizing control of it from Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) on March 18, 2018. (Credit: AFP)

A report released yesterday by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria presented evidence that both the Syrian regime and rebel forces, along with their Russian and Turkish allies, respectively, committed gross human rights abuses and war crimes against Arab and Kurdish civilians in Syria between July, 2019 and February, 2020.

The Syrian regime and their allies in the Russian air force have been accused of the indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian areas of Idlib province, where an all-out campaign is underway for control of the last, rebel-held stronghold in Syria. Specifically, the Russian military was accused of bombing an outdoor market and a refugee camp in 2019, killing over 60 Syrian men, women and children.

The Syrian regime has also regularly bombed and shelled civilian areas in Idlib, including the use of the notorious “barrel bomb”, a crude explosive device encased in an oil drum, which is typically dropped for a helicopter. Targets have included hospitals and schools. The report described the bombing campaigns as “intentionally terrorising a population to force it to move.”

CLICK TO BUILD

Partner with FAI as we build on the edge of the growing eye of the storm in the Golan Heights. Our Legacy Center will stand as a bastion of solidarity with a Jewish Jerusalem as well as a beacon of refuge and hope for the surrounding nations.

On the other side of the conflict, the report documents a “consistent, discernible pattern” of human rights abuses by Turkey and their Syrian rebel allies against civilians in Kurdish-majority areas such as Afrin and Ras al-Ayn. Rebel forces were accused of murdering and pillaging in Kurdish majority areas on both sides of the Euphrates River. The report states that the Islamist militias “perpetrated the war crime of murder and repeatedly committed the war crime of pillaging, further seriously contravening the right to enjoyment of possessions and property…These violations instilled fear among Kurdish residents and caused further displacement.” Kurdish women have been a particular target of Turkish-allied rebel forces, both in regards to physical and sexual abuses. The report states, “armed groups generated a palpable fear of violence and duress among the female Kurdish population,” including the strict enforcement of gender-oppressive aspects of Islamic Sharia law. Kurds are also regularly a target of kidnapping for ransom by rebel groups, incidents which often end tragically as many victims “have been killed after they were not able to pay these groups ransom money.”

Although the Turkish government has attempted to distance itself from the human rights abuses committed by its proxy forces in Syria, the report still calls Ankara to account, stating, “if any armed group members were shown to be acting under the effective command and control of Turkish forces, these violations may entail criminal responsibility for such [Turkish] commanders who knew.” The report also called on Turkey to investigate its role in bombing a civilian convoy outside the Kurdish-majority border town of Ras al-Ayn as it fled the advance of Turkish-allied forces during the offensive of October, 2019. Eleven civilians were killed in the airstrike, and although a Turkish fighter jet was later confirmed to in the same airspace, the Turkish government has denied any involvement.

The report is released amidst an ongoing offensive by Syrian regime forces and their Russian and Iranian allies to retake Idlib, while Turkey has spearheaded a fierce counter-offensive in recent days, bringing the fighting to a bloody deadlock just a few kilometers away from the provincial capital city. Over one million Syrian civilians have been displaced and hundreds killed in Idlib as the Syrian civil war turns nine-years-old this month. The United States envoy for the Syrian conflict, James Jeffery, publicly announced today that the US government will provide ammunition to the Turkish military in support of their counter-offensive against the Syrian regime.