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UN Commission Says Recent Syrian Attacks Constitute War Crimes

© REUTERS / Abdalrhman IsmailResidents inspect damages after an airstrike on the rebel held al-Maysar neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria, April 11, 2016.
Residents inspect damages after an airstrike on the rebel held al-Maysar neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria, April 11, 2016. - Sputnik International
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The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republicconsiders recent attacks on Syrian citizens to be a huge violation of international humanitarian law and war crimes.

GENEVA (Sputnik) — The UN-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemned on Wednesday recent attacks on civilians and medical facilities in Syria, notably in the northern Aleppo province, considering them to be violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes.

"The Commission calls on all parties to cease the unlawful attacks on civilian areas, especially humanitarian locations and specially protected sites under international humanitarian law. The Commission has repeatedly noted that international humanitarian law’s foundational principle of distinction – which underlies a number of war crimes – requires all parties to a conflict to distinguish between lawful and unlawful targets. The recent unlawful attacks are violations of international humanitarian law; some are war crimes," the organization set up by the UN Human Rights Council said in a statement.

Burnt vehicles are pictured in front of the damaged the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo, April 28, 2016 - Sputnik International
US, Russia Urge Syria's Warring Parties to End Attacks on Civilians
Since late April several attacks on medical facilities and other civilian objects have been conducted in war-torn Syria. In particular, dozens of civilians were killed during recent attacks on the Al-Quds hospital in Aleppo on April 27 and a refugee camp in Sarmada in northwestern Syria on May 5.

"Failure to respect the laws of war must have consequences for the perpetrators. Accountability must be part of the process of returning Syria to peace. Until the culture of impunity is uprooted, civilians will continue to be targeted, victimized and brutally killed," Paulo Pinheiro, the Commission's chair, stressed, as quoted in the statement.

Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria. - Sputnik International
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Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups, such as the Islamic State (IS, also known as Daesh) and Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra).

A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27. IS and Nusra Front, both outlawed in Russia, were not part of the deal. Despite the ceasefire agreement, violence has escalated in Syria in recent weeks, especially in the northern Aleppo region.

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