Syrian and Russian warplanes have repeatedly used incendiary weapons in “disgraceful” attacks on civilians in northern Syria, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday.
The New York-based rights group said it had documented the use of incendiary weapons at least 18 times since June that had resulted in more than a dozen injuries.
There was “compelling evidence” that Russia was supporting Syrian government planes in those attacks, the group said.
“The Syrian government and Russia should immediately stop attacking civilian areas with incendiary weapons,” HRW arms director Steve Goose said.
“The disgraceful incendiary weapon attacks in Syria show an abject failure to adhere to international law restricting incendiary weapons,” Goose said.
When dropped from aircraft, incendiary weapons leave distinctive trails of explosives in the sky and trigger small, intense fires upon contact.
They were used widely during the Vietnam War and are banned by the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
HRW documented attacks with such weapons since early June, including two cases on Aug. 7 that hit opposition-controlled parts of the cities of Aleppo and Idlib.
“I could clearly see the flames bursting,” said Idlib resident Mohammad Taj al-Din Othman, who supplied HRW with photographs of the attack. “Within 10 minutes, there were more strikes. The fire was unbelievable, it turned night into day.”
“The fire took over everything, houses, cars, oil tanks and even grass,” a civil defense volunteer said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said it too had documented the use of thermite — a type of incendiary substance — by Russian planes in Idlib, Aleppo and Deir Ezzor provinces, and Raqa.
All sides of Syria’s complex war have exchanged accusations of attacks against civilians and use of unconventional weapons including chlorine and mustard gas.
HRW said the use of incendiary weapons in Syria had “increased significantly” since Russia began its air war in support of Damascus on Sept, 30, last year.
In a letter to HRW in November last year, Russia acknowledged that “improper use” of incendiary weapons had resulted in “significant humanitarian damage” in Syria.
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