U.S. airstrikes spread panic in Iraq, Syria
200 dead in Mosul airstrike, 100 pulled from single building
MOSUL, IRAQ— A sharp rise in the number of civilians reported killed in U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria is spreading panic, deepening mistrust and triggering accusations that the United States and its partners may be acting with an unprecedented disregard for lives of non-combatants.
The escalation comes as local ground forces backed by air support from a U.S.-led coalition close in on Daesh’s two main urban bastions: Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.
In front-line neighbourhoods in western Mosul, families described cowering in basements for weeks as bombs rained down around them and Daesh battled from their rooftops. Across the border in Raqqa, residents desperately trying to flee before an offensive begins are being blocked by the militants, who often use civilians as human shields.
Throughout his election campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to target Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, more aggressively, criticizing the U.S. air campaign for being too “gentle” and asking for a reassessment of battlefield rules. The United States has denied there has been any shift and defended the conduct of its campaign.
But figures compiled by monitoring organizations and interviews with residents paint an increasingly bloody picture, with the number of casualties in March already surpass- ing records for a single month.
The worst alleged attack was in Mosul, where rescue teams are still digging out bodies after what residents describe as a hellish onslaught in the Mosul al-Jadida neighbourhood dur- ing the battle to retake it two weeks ago. Iraqi officials and residents say as many as 200 died in U.S.-led strikes, with more than 100 bodies recovered from a single building. The U.S.-led coalition says it is investigat- ing the reports, but acknowledged carrying out a strike in the area.
Speaking from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday, U.S. army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said U.S. officials are looking into the possibility that Daesh militants had forced civilians to gather there as human shields or to lure the U.S. into attacking. He also stressed that no one should think the casualties were a deliberate U.S. act.
“If we did it — and I’d say there is at least a fair chance we did — it was an unintentional accident of war,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the UN human rights office called on the coalition to work to “minimize the impact” on civilians.
Amnesty International said the coalition was not taking sufficient precautions to prevent civilian deaths in Mosul, in a “flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law.
According to the U.K.-based organization Airwars, which tracks allegations of civilian deaths in airstrikes, out of 1,257 claims of deaths in U.S.-led coalition airstrikes this month, a record 337 have been assessed as being “fair,” meaning there is a reasonable level of public reporting of the alleged incident from two or more generally credible sources and that strikes have been confirmed in the area on the day in question.
“The scale of the destruction is huge and we are reeling from the number of alleged cases, ” said director of Airwars Chris Woods. “Casualty numbers from western Mosul are absolutely shocking. In Syria it’s a car here, a family there. It happens every day.”