UN: All Sides Committed War Crimes in Aleppo

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The UN has determined that both the rebels and the opposition from Syrian and Russian forces had committed war crimes that have caused many casualties among the civilian population of Aleppo.

The investigation report released by the UN Commission of Inquiry noted that Syrian and Russian forces “pervasively used” weapons to bomb highly populated areas in the rebel-held capital of Aleppo during last year’s conflict.

According to Al Jazeera these munitions included “aerial bombs, air-to-surface rockets, cluster munitions, incendiary bombs, barrel bombs, and weapons delivering toxic industrial chemicals.”

The Syrian government also used chlorine bombs, a banned chemically toxic weapon that caused hundreds of civilian casualties according to the UN report. The  government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons in the war, which has killed almost 400,000 people.

The report also accused the Syrian government of a “meticulously planned and ruthlessly carried out” air strike on a UN and Syrian Red Crescent convoy in western Aleppo in September, which killed 14 aid workers.

According to Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom, “the press was told was that the UN is preparing a dossier so if there is a tribunal that eventually happens, the evidence is ready to try to prosecute those who are accused of doing war crimes.”

Rebels have been accused of firing shells indiscriminately at government-held areas and other parts of western Aleppo. Rebels also reportedly prevented groups of civilians from escaping eastern Aleppo during the latter stages of its fall, and used some civilians as human shields.

The Syrian government has repeatedly denied most of the claims put forth against it, and the rebels have also failed to take any accountability for their actions. Both sides have ravaged the city of Aleppo, killed many innocent civilians, and have used inhumane and illegal methods in fighting each other.

 

Photo Credit: Reuters/Kenan Al-Derani

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Nicholas Amato

Nicholas Amato is the News Editor at Being Libertarian. He’s an undergraduate student at San Jose State University, majoring in political science and minoring in journalism.

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