MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, media reported that at least 200 people, many of whom were civilians, were killed in an airstrike in the city.
“Evidence gathered on the ground in East Mosul points to an alarming pattern of US-led coalition airstrikes which have destroyed whole houses with entire families inside. The high civilian toll suggests that coalition forces leading the offensive in Mosul have failed to take adequate precautions to prevent civilian deaths, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” Donatella Rovera, the Senior Crisis Response Adviser at Amnesty International, said.
The Iraqi operation to recapture Mosul, the key stronghold of Daesh in Iraq, began in October 2016 and resulted in the liberation of Mosul’s eastern part this January. Fighting continues in the city's west.
The UN estimates 180,000 civilians have escaped western Mosul since mid-February, with up to 320,000 more expected to flee in coming weeks, as government forces continue advance into the Old City.
