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Syria calls on UN Security Council to stop US-led crimes against civilians

Thursday, 17 August 2017 4:51 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 18 August 2017 6:37 PM ]

Smoke rises after a US-led airstrike during fighting between members of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces and Daesh terrorists in Raqqah, Syria, on August 15, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Damascus has urged the United Nations to take on its responsibilities concerning the establishment of international peace and security to put an end to the crimes against Syrians by the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, in two separate letters sent to UN Secretary General António Guterres and rotating President of the UN Security Council Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta on Thursday, pointed to the loss of 17 civilian lives in US-led aerial attacks against residential neighborhoods in Raqqah on August 16.

The airstrikes also injured many people, including children and women, and damaged civilian infrastructure, the letters added.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry also accused the US-led coalition of using guided bombs and internationally-banned white phosphorus munitions in flagrant violation of international law and human rights principles.

This file photo shows a view of the building of the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the capital Damascus.

The letters further called upon the members of the US-led coalition to immediately dissolve the military contingent as it had been formed outside the UN framework and without permission from the Syrian government.

Earlier on Thursday, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported that the US-led military aircraft had bombarded residential buildings in the city of al-Jala, located along the Euphrates River and south of the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr, as well as the towns of At-Tayana, al-Zabari, Boqruss and Subaikhan.

The report added that six people, including three children, were killed in the attacks, noting that the airstrikes also destroyed a number of houses, public properties and civilian infrastructure in the targeted areas.

The US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

The military alliance has repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians. It has also been largely incapable of fulfilling its declared aim of destroying Daesh.

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