UN accuses Russia of striking hospital in Syria
Kyiv • UNN
The United Nations accuses Russia of deliberately bombing a hospital in opposition-controlled northern Syria in 2019, killing relatives of a Syrian who filed a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee.
A complaint has been filed against Russia at the UN, accusing Russian aviation of a deliberate attack on a hospital. This happened in the opposition-controlled northern part of Syria five years ago, the BBC writes, UNN reports .
Details
The application was filed by a Syrian with the support of human rights groups whose relatives were killed in the attack.
In 2015, Russia launched an air campaign in support of the Syrian government, which helped turn the tide of the civil war.
The UN's own investigation into the conflict has documented widespread alleged war crimes, including indiscriminate bombing by Russian and Syrian forces.
It is noted that a specific case filed with the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva concerns the bombing of the Kafranbel Surgical Hospital in Idlib province on May 5, 2019.
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The detailed evidence presented to the UN Committee shows that the hospital, which was overcrowded with patients that day, was bombed four times within 20 minutes.
The evidence also includes an alleged audio recording of the pilot's communication with a Russian ground controller confirming the successful targeting. The time of the communication coincides with the time of the strikes, which were captured on video by people on the ground in Kafranbel.
Two brothers in the hospital, cousins of the Syrian who filed the case with the UN, were killed.
Context
Intentionally targeting a medical facility is a war crime under international law. Human rights experts say that such attacks occurred regularly during the Syrian civil war and other conflicts.
Three other Syrian hospitals were reportedly hit by Russian planes on the same day in May 2019.
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