Syria: The time has come to shed light on crimes of (international coalition) in destroying Raqqa and killing thousands of innocent people

On April 18th, Syria confirmed that the issue of the destruction of the city of Raqqa and the killing of thousands of innocent people there by the illegal US-led “international coalition” has not received the required international attention. 

Syria stressed that these practices were and will remain one of the most heinous crimes that the international community was not fully aware of in detail until recently, and that the time has come to shed light on this humanitarian, legal and political issue that Member States did not give it the importance and treatment it deserves. 

In an official letter it addressed to both the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the Security Council regarding the war crimes committed by the so-called “international coalition” in the city of Raqqa in 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates clarified that the US military operation launched by the illegal “international coalition” forces on the city of Raqqa in the period between June and October 2017, led to the almost complete destruction of this city and the displacement of thousands of civilians.

The Ministry stressed that the barbaric military operation of the so-called “international coalition” forces on the city of Raqqa and its people was based on the deliberate and systematic destruction of infrastructure and public and private properties in and around Raqqa city. 

The Ministry considered that the same assessment applies to the war crimes committed by the forces of the so-called “international coalition” and its “SDF” militia in the village of Al-Baghuz in the countryside of Deir Ezzor in 2018 and 2019, where the town was completely destroyed in addition to the massacre which was committed by the warplanes of this illegal coalition on March 18, 2019 against a convoy of residents of this village who numbered 80 people or more and who were trying to save their lives. 

The Ministry indicated that, as of November 2020, unpublished official US sources admitted the killing and wounding of 240 civilians (178 dead and 62 wounded) in Raqqa from 38 different incidents due to US military operations. 

The Ministry said that non-governmental organizations and numerous independent reports estimated that 774 verified victims were killed and injured in Raqqa (744 dead and 30 wounded) most likely due to the “international coalition” and from 108 incidents. 

The Ministry added: the data and figures obtained by other non-governmental organizations and which were contained in published reports indicate that the real number of civilian casualties due to the operations of the “international coalition” forces in Raqqa is more than 1,600 civilians. 

The Ministry indicated in its letter that the official US reports included an analysis of satellite images that took place in the aftermath of the battle, which reflects the fact that the level of structural damage in Raqqa was unparalleled in military operations and that, according to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, nearly 11,000 buildings in Raqqa were completely destroyed or severely damaged between February and October of 2017, equivalent to the destruction of 40 buildings per day.

The Ministry said: Official US reports acknowledged that widespread structural damage in Raqqa undermined the prospects for re-administration and governance of the city after the end of the battle, and that Raqqa suffered the largest structural damage, and that the effect of coalition strikes contributed significantly to making 60 to 80 percent of the city uninhabitable. 

The Ministry added: The size of the losses in infrastructure and public and private property and the number of casualties among civilians, especially in Raqqa, Ain al-Arab and al-Baghouz, all prove that the United States and its allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. The reports of American official institutions about what happened in Raqqa were and will remain false in their handling of the size of the catastrophe, especially since the data that was collected and analyzed from US government sources presents the viewpoint of the US Department of Defense, which is originally responsible for the crimes of aggression, destruction and targeting witnessed in Raqqa, Al-Baghouz, the Euphrates Dam and other Syrian regions. 

The Ministry stressed that the US Department of Defense seeks to obscure the truth of what happened there, but it cannot deny the horrific scale of destruction caused by the US military’s operations in Raqqa, because it is still on the ground. 

The Ministry added: On the other hand, the US Department of Defense resorts to manipulating the numbers of victims as it’s the military force in control of the ground there, which has the ability to tamper with the site and the evidence and figures for the numbers of victims. 

The Ministry called on the United Nations to deal with the file of the destruction of Raqqa and the killing of thousands of its residents due to the American forces’ aggressive military operations.

The Ministry stressed that it will continue to raise the issue of what the city of Raqqa, the village of Al-Baghouz, the Euphrates Dam and other Syrian areas have been subjected to, including the total or partial destruction and deliberate targeting of civilians by the so-called “international coalition forces.” 

The Ministry stressed that Syria retains its right to hold all governments of countries that have joined the ranks of the so-called “international coalition” political, legal, moral and material responsibilities for the crimes committed by the military forces involved in the ranks of this illegal coalition and for the losses and material damage to public and private properties and infrastructure.

The Ministry pledged to continue monitoring the American practices that threaten the environment, represented in facilitating and supporting indiscriminate oil extraction by separatist militias linked to the invading American forces, in addition to introducing rotten and infested American wheat seeds to the northeastern regions and imposing them on farmers there. 

At the conclusion of its letter, the Ministry confirmed that the US government is officially and deliberately committing practices that may cause, in the near and far future, serious environmental pollution in the north-east of Syria, practices that amount to an international environmental crime and a war crime.

Inas Abdulkareem/ O. al-Mohammad