Devereaux writes: "U.S. authorities overseeing the war against the Islamic
State in Syria have failed to respond to evidence of hundreds of civilian
casualties resulting from coalition airstrikes and potential violations of
the laws of war, according to a startling new account from Amnesty
International."
Did the Pentagon ignore evidence of civilian casualties in ISIS airstrikes?
(photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)
Pentagon Ignored Evidence of Civilian Casualties in ISIS Strikes, Human
Rights Group Says
By Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
26 October 16
U.S. authorities overseeing the war against the Islamic State in Syria have
failed to respond to evidence of hundreds of civilian casualties resulting
from coalition airstrikes and potential violations of the laws of war,
according to a startling new account from Amnesty International.
In a press release issued Tuesday night, Amnesty said it has presented the
Pentagon with evidence that 11 coalition airstrikes in Syria over the past
two years appear to have led to the deaths of as many as 300 civilians - and
that so far that evidence has been met with silence.
"U.S. authorities have provided no response to a memorandum Amnesty
International sent to the Department of Defense on September 28 to raise
questions about the conduct of coalition forces in Syria," the group
claimed.
"We fear the U.S.-led coalition is significantly underestimating the harm
caused to civilians in its operations in Syria," Lynn Maalouf, deputy
director for research at Amnesty's Beirut regional office, said in a
statement. "Analysis of available evidence suggests that in each of these
cases, coalition forces failed to take adequate precautions to minimize harm
to civilians and damage to civilian objects."
Maalouf added that some of the strikes in question "may constitute
disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks."
U.S. Army Maj. Josh T. Jacques said CENTCOM, the component of the U.S.
military running the coalition war against the Islamic State, "is aware of
the letter from Amnesty International and is currently evaluating the
allegations of civilian casualties it contains."
"The coalition takes great care - from analysis of available intelligence to
selection of the appropriate weapon to meet mission requirements - in order
to minimize the risk of harm to non-combatants," Jacques said in an email to
The Intercept. "Civilian casualty allegations come from various sources,
including our own internal reviews and unit self-reporting, media reports,
non-governmental organizations, or other U.S. government departments."
While the Syrian military and its Russian allies have been responsible for
the vast majority of civilian casualties resulting from airstrikes within
Syria's borders, the 27-page memorandum Amnesty sent to the Pentagon last
month painted a detailed picture of nearly a dozen incidents in which
coalition operations frequently described by U.S. officials as the most
careful and precise in the world appear to have gone deeply awry.
"For several incidents, no military objective could be discerned and reports
indicate that the only casualties were civilian," the memo noted. "The loss
of civilian life was so high in a few attacks that it is difficult to see
how a significant enough military advantage could have been anticipated that
would have outweighed the risk to civilians."
More than a third of the deaths Amnesty catalogued were the result of bloody
operations to liberate areas around and in the Syrian city of Manbij from
Islamic State control over the summer. While death counts from airstrikes
during that offensive varied, Amnesty claims that attacks launched on one
village, al-Tukhar, may have resulted in the greatest loss of civilian life
in the history of the coalition's war on ISIS, with 73 civilians - including
27 children - killed, according to evidence Amnesty compiled.
While the U.S. has confirmed that it launched an investigation into the
high-profile incidents in Manbij, its broader efforts at investigating
alleged civilian casualty incidents in the war on the Islamic State have
been repeatedly called into question.
A Defense Department official said that the Pentagon had not yet
incorporated Amnesty's report, but as of October 13, had received 249
allegations of civilian casualties stemming from coalition operations in
Syria and Iraq. Of the complaints received, 62 resulted in closed
investigations, with 31 conclusions announced publicly - 13 in Syria and 18
in Iraq. The Pentagon deemed 179 of the allegations not credible. In Syria,
five investigations remain open. All told, the Pentagon claims that 55
civilians have been killed and 29 injured over two years and thousands of
airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.
The figures pale in comparison to civilian casualty estimates offered up by
human rights organizations and other monitoring groups, which claim that
anywhere from 600 to more than 1,000 civilians have died in coalition
airstrikes. In the case of the 11 strikes Amnesty examined, the human rights
group reported that to date CENTCOM has acknowledged only a single civilian
casualty resulting from those operations.
"Based on Amnesty International's research and analysis, some attacks known
or suspected to have been carried out by coalition forces may have violated
international humanitarian law," Amnesty's memorandum to U.S. officials
noted.
The reported failure to follow up on alleged civilian casualties, the group
argues, appears to fall short of an executive order issued by President
Obama in July, which requires U.S. authorities to investigate when civilians
are believed to have died in U.S. counterterrorism operations.
"This is totally contrary to the president's stated commitments to
transparency and accountability on this issue," said Naureen Shah, director
of Amnesty's Security with Human Rights program. "The Defense Department
must acknowledge and investigate these civilian deaths immediately."
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Did the Pentagon ignore evidence of civilian casualties in ISIS airstrikes?
(photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)
https://theintercept.com/2016/10/25/pentagon-ignored-evidence-of-civilian-ca
sualties-in-isis-strikes-human-rights-group-says/https://theintercept.com/20
16/10/25/pentagon-ignored-evidence-of-civilian-casualties-in-isis-strikes-hu
man-rights-group-says/
Pentagon Ignored Evidence of Civilian Casualties in ISIS Strikes, Human
Rights Group Says
By Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
26 October 16
.S. authorities overseeing the war against the Islamic State in Syria have
failed to respond to evidence of hundreds of civilian casualties resulting
from coalition airstrikes and potential violations of the laws of war,
according to a startling new account from Amnesty International.
In a press release issued Tuesday night, Amnesty said it has presented the
Pentagon with evidence that 11 coalition airstrikes in Syria over the past
two years appear to have led to the deaths of as many as 300 civilians - and
that so far that evidence has been met with silence.
"U.S. authorities have provided no response to a memorandum Amnesty
International sent to the Department of Defense on September 28 to raise
questions about the conduct of coalition forces in Syria," the group
claimed.
"We fear the U.S.-led coalition is significantly underestimating the harm
caused to civilians in its operations in Syria," Lynn Maalouf, deputy
director for research at Amnesty's Beirut regional office, said in a
statement. "Analysis of available evidence suggests that in each of these
cases, coalition forces failed to take adequate precautions to minimize harm
to civilians and damage to civilian objects."
Maalouf added that some of the strikes in question "may constitute
disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks."
U.S. Army Maj. Josh T. Jacques said CENTCOM, the component of the U.S.
military running the coalition war against the Islamic State, "is aware of
the letter from Amnesty International and is currently evaluating the
allegations of civilian casualties it contains."
"The coalition takes great care - from analysis of available intelligence to
selection of the appropriate weapon to meet mission requirements - in order
to minimize the risk of harm to non-combatants," Jacques said in an email to
The Intercept. "Civilian casualty allegations come from various sources,
including our own internal reviews and unit self-reporting, media reports,
non-governmental organizations, or other U.S. government departments."
While the Syrian military and its Russian allies have been responsible for
the vast majority of civilian casualties resulting from airstrikes within
Syria's borders, the 27-page memorandum Amnesty sent to the Pentagon last
month painted a detailed picture of nearly a dozen incidents in which
coalition operations frequently described by U.S. officials as the most
careful and precise in the world appear to have gone deeply awry.
"For several incidents, no military objective could be discerned and reports
indicate that the only casualties were civilian," the memo noted. "The loss
of civilian life was so high in a few attacks that it is difficult to see
how a significant enough military advantage could have been anticipated that
would have outweighed the risk to civilians."
More than a third of the deaths Amnesty catalogued were the result of bloody
operations to liberate areas around and in the Syrian city of Manbij from
Islamic State control over the summer. While death counts from airstrikes
during that offensive varied, Amnesty claims that attacks launched on one
village, al-Tukhar, may have resulted in the greatest loss of civilian life
in the history of the coalition's war on ISIS, with 73 civilians - including
27 children - killed, according to evidence Amnesty compiled.
While the U.S. has confirmed that it launched an investigation into the
high-profile incidents in Manbij, its broader efforts at investigating
alleged civilian casualty incidents in the war on the Islamic State have
been repeatedly called into question.
A Defense Department official said that the Pentagon had not yet
incorporated Amnesty's report, but as of October 13, had received 249
allegations of civilian casualties stemming from coalition operations in
Syria and Iraq. Of the complaints received, 62 resulted in closed
investigations, with 31 conclusions announced publicly - 13 in Syria and 18
in Iraq. The Pentagon deemed 179 of the allegations not credible. In Syria,
five investigations remain open. All told, the Pentagon claims that 55
civilians have been killed and 29 injured over two years and thousands of
airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.
The figures pale in comparison to civilian casualty estimates offered up by
human rights organizations and other monitoring groups, which claim that
anywhere from 600 to more than 1,000 civilians have died in coalition
airstrikes. In the case of the 11 strikes Amnesty examined, the human rights
group reported that to date CENTCOM has acknowledged only a single civilian
casualty resulting from those operations.
"Based on Amnesty International's research and analysis, some attacks known
or suspected to have been carried out by coalition forces may have violated
international humanitarian law," Amnesty's memorandum to U.S. officials
noted.
The reported failure to follow up on alleged civilian casualties, the group
argues, appears to fall short of an executive order issued by President
Obama in July, which requires U.S. authorities to investigate when civilians
are believed to have died in U.S. counterterrorism operations.
"This is totally contrary to the president's stated commitments to
transparency and accountability on this issue," said Naureen Shah, director
of Amnesty's Security with Human Rights program. "The Defense Department
must acknowledge and investigate these civilian deaths immediately."
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