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ICC to investigate Russian airstrikes in Aleppo
Russia has been down this road before in Chechnya[ARA News] The International Criminal Court has to investigate possible war crimes committed by Russia and the Assad regime in Syria’s Aleppo, French officials said on Monday. “We do not agree with what Russia is doing, bombarding Aleppo. France is committed as never before to saving the population of Aleppo,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Paris on 19 October. However, according to reports the French President Francois Hollande has not decided yet whether to meet his Russian counterpart. According to Ayrault, Hollande will take into account the ongoing bombardment of Aleppo if he meets Putin in Paris. “If the president decides [to meet Putin], this will not be to trade pleasantries,” minister Ayrault told France’s Inter radio on Monday. Aleppo Under Fire The French call comes amid intensifying Russian and Syrian airstrikes on eastern Aleppo. Hundreds of civilians have been killed over the past few weeks. The exact number of fatalities is difficult to establish as many bodies remain buried under rubble. The infrastructure which supports Aleppo’s civilian population has also been critically damaged and in some cases utterly destroyed. Local activists reported that while the Russian and Syrian governments claim to target extremists, “airstrikes in Aleppo destroy homes, hospitals and schools.” The Russian Ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, confirmed that the Syrian and Russian governments intentionally bomb hospitals. “Most hospitals are unmarked rebel field facilities. Keeping civilians as a human shield is a well-known terrorist tactic,” Ambassador Yakovenko said. Russian war planes also bombed a major pharmaceutical company in Aleppo. According to local sources, a building belonging to the ElSaad Pharmaceutical Company was hit with six rockets on Wednesday. “The building was destroyed completely, leaving the city with an acute shortage of medicine,” human rights activist Zakariya Hamdo told ARA News. Syrian and Russian jets have resumed their bombing of rebel-held districts, reinforcing Shia militias and the Syrian Army as they lay siege to eastern Aleppo. Violence has intensified in Aleppo since a Russian-American ceasefire deal broke down last month. Posted by: badanov 2016-10-11 |
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