Russia accused of "revenge massacres" in Syria

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The human rights organization interviewed dozens of witnesses and activists, and reviewed video clips and images of six Russian attacks and their aftermath, disputing the Kremlin's claims that it has only attacked "terrorist" targets. The group indicated "serious failings" by Russia to adhere to international law.

"The Russian armed forces appear to have directly attacked civilians or civilian objects by striking residential areas with no evident military objective and even medical facilities, resulting in deaths and injuries to civilians," Amnesty said in its report. "In others, they seem to have attacked military objectives and civilian objects without distinction, or caused disproportionate harm to civilians when striking military targets. Such attacks may constitute war crimes."
The death toll from a recent wave of attacks by Russian and Syrian warplanes on areas controlled by the Islamic State (IS) has risen to 164 over the past 72 hours, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The dead are said to include 43 children and 25 women.

The UK-based monitoring group said the attacks targeted towns across the countryside in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, and Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS's self-proclaimed caliphate. The SOHR described the bombings as "revenge massacres." Last week, IS reportedly kidnapped an estimated 400 civilians from Syrian government-held areas in Deir al-Zor. Though 270 of the captives were later released, the militants were accused of carrying out beheadings and targeting pro-government fighters and their families.

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