US-led strikes ‘kill 56 civilians’ in Syria

The civilians had apparently been mistaken for the extremists and were bombed while fleeing fighting in Aleppo province, according to opposition monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A young Syrian stands looking at the rubble of a collapsed building as rescuers look for victims following an air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Sakhur in Aleppo city on July 19, 2016. ThaeShow more

BEIRUT // At least 56 civilians, including children, were killed in strikes by a US-led coalition on Tuesday near a Syrian village held by ISIL, an opposition monitor said.

The civilians had apparently been mistaken for the extremists and were bombed while fleeing fighting in Aleppo province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“There are at least 56 dead, including 11 children, and dozens more wounded, including some in critical condition,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

The monitor says it determines what planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.

Asked about the strike near Al Tukhar, the US-led coalition against ISIL said it had “conducted air strikes near Manbij ... recently” and that it was looking into the reports alleging civilian casualties.

“As with any allegation we receive, we will review any information we have about the incident ... such as the proximity of the location” to coalition air strikes, it said.

“We take all measures during the targeting process to avoid or minimise civilian casualties or collateral damage and to comply with the principles of the Law of Armed Conflict.”

Al Tukhar lies 14 kilometres north of the town of Manbij, a key ISIL stronghold that has been repeatedly targeted in raids by the US-led coalition.

On Monday, the Observatory said 21 civilians had been killed in coalition raids in the area, 15 of them in a northern district of Manbij and another six in Al Tukhar.

Manbij sits on ISIL’s main supply route between Syria and neighbouring Turkey and has been the target of a US-backed offensive by a Kurdish-Arab alliance of fighters since May 31.

In June, the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance broke into western districts of the town, but their advance has been slowed in the past month because of landmines planted by the extremists and ongoing suicide attacks.

The coalition said on Tuesday that SDF fighters had captured an ISIL “command centre and logistics hub” in western Manbij on Sunday.

It said the fighters had also seized “a significant amount of the city during the operation, which provided civilians the opportunity to escape”.

SDF fighters control around a quarter of Manbij, according to the Observatory.

Just outside Aleppo city, meanwhile, government forces sought to tighten their siege of rebel-held districts in the east of the provincial capital.

Clashes erupted around Handarat, a largely deserted Palestinian refugee camp north of the city, after government forces seized parts of the only remaining supply route into rebel-held districts, effectively severing them from the outside world.

The capture of the Castello Road has raised fears of a lengthy siege of east Aleppo, where residents have already reported food shortages and rising prices.

The Observatory said fierce clashes were under way around Handarat Camp, which is less than two kilometres from the northern outskirts of the city.

“If the regime takes Handarat, it will be able to completely asphyxiate the rebels in east Aleppo, and they will be unable to launch counter-attacks to retake the Castello Road,” Mr Abdel Rahman said.

* Agence France-Presse