{"id":2558,"date":"2019-01-11T18:07:53","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T18:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.raqqa-sl.com\/en\/?p=2558"},"modified":"2021-03-25T06:12:23","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T06:12:23","slug":"syria-us-troop-withdrawal-does-not-erase-coalitions-duty-towards-raqqas-devastated-civilians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raqqa-sl.com\/en\/?p=2558","title":{"rendered":"Syria: US troop withdrawal does not erase Coalition\u2019s duty towards Raqqa\u2019s devastated civilians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Reacting to today\u2019s statement by the US-led Coalition that its troops have begun \u201cthe process of deliberate withdrawal\u201d from Syria, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International\u2019s Middle East Research Director, said:
\u201cIt is deplorable that the US-led Coalition continues to ignore its responsibility of carrying out any meaningful investigations into the hundreds of civilian deaths it caused in Raqqa and elsewhere \u2013 even as it starts to withdraw its ground troops from Syria.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Reacting to today\u2019s statement by the US-led Coalition that its troops have begun \u201cthe process of deliberate withdrawal\u201d from Syria, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International\u2019s Middle East Research Director, said:


\u201cIt is deplorable that the US-led Coalition continues to ignore its responsibility of carrying out any meaningful investigations into the hundreds of civilian deaths it caused in Raqqa and elsewhere \u2013 even as it starts to withdraw its ground troops from Syria.
<\/p>
Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Research Director <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Coalition is unashamedly ignoring the devastating legacy of its bombing campaign, adding insult to injury by making clear that it has no intention of offering survivors any form of remedy or compensation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0

\u201cAmnesty International has been to Raqqa multiple times since the battle ended. Not a single one of the hundreds of survivors we\u2019ve spoken to on the ground has even been contacted by the Coalition \u2013 let alone received any assistance \u2013 as they try to rebuild their lives.

\u201cThe Coalition\u2019s battle for Raqqa began as\u00a0its military campaign in Mosul<\/a>, in neighboring Iraq, was winding down. Its legacy of devastation and impunity in Mosul should have served as a cautionary tale. There, too, Coalition strikes killed large numbers of civilians and destroyed civilian homes and infrastructure on a massive scale, but it barely lifted a finger to assist in the aftermath.\u00a0

\u201cHad the Coalition learned from its mistakes in Iraq, the utter devastation of Raqqa might have been avoided. Leaving such widespread civilian destruction in its wake is a humanitarian abomination that is at odds with the Coalition\u2019s stated values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the Coalition learned from its mistakes in Iraq, the utter devastation of Raqqa might have been avoided. Leaving such widespread civilian destruction in its wake is a humanitarian abomination that is at odds with the Coalition\u2019s stated values. <\/p>
Lynn Maalouf <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Background<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The US troop withdrawal \u2013 the timeline and details of which remain unknown \u2013 is unlikely to stop the US-led Coalition\u2019s air strikes in Syria, putting more civilian lives at risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amnesty International is carrying out an\u00a0ongoing investigation<\/a>, in partnership with\u00a0Airwars<\/g><\/a>, into the shocking scale of civilian casualties resulting from four months of US, UK<\/g> and French bombardment to oust the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) from Raqqa.\u00a0The results will be made public in April 2019.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amnesty International\u2019s\u00a0on-the-ground investigations and analysis since the battle ended<\/a>\u00a0in October 2017 revealed compelling evidence of prima facie international humanitarian law violations by the US-led Coalition. They prompted the Coalition to revise its civilian death toll statistics upwards from 23 to more than 100 \u2013 a 300% increase.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a September 2018 letter to Amnesty International, the US Department of Defense \u2013 whose forces carried out most of the air strikes and all the artillery strikes on Raqqa \u2013 made clear it accepts no liability for the hundreds of civilian casualties it caused. The Coalition does not plan to compensate survivors and relatives of those killed in Raqqa and refuses to provide further information about the circumstances behind the strikes.
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Reacting to today’s statement by the US-led Coalition that its troops have begun “the process of deliberate withdrawal” from Syria, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said: “It<\/p>\n

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