Bondarev: Aerospace Forces have never bombed civilian facilities in Syria
“The Military Space Forces have never hit civilian targets in Syria”, said Viktor Bondarev, Colonel General and commander-in-chief of Russia’s Aerospace Forces said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television.
Russian air forces have not hit civilian targets since targeting territory held by the Islamic State in Syria, dispelling reports that the Russian military had targeted civilians in rebel-controlled areas. Pilots arewell-trained and “have neverissed their targets have neverhit…so-called sensitive places: schools hospitalsmosques” he said.
Russian Federation has hit back at a human rights report accusing it of committing war crimes in Syria, dubbing it “politically-motivated and fabricated”.
Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International, had said: “Some Russian airstrikes appear to have directly attacked civilians or civilian objects by striking residential areas with no evident military target and even medical facilities, resulting in deaths and injuries to civilians”. In response, Russia’s defense ministry has demanded to know the identities of the nonprofit’s local sources as the group did not send its own investigation team to Syria. Bondarev pointed out that the airborne campaign waged by Russia against Islamist militants in Syria was meticulously planned and that Russian forces closely cooperate with the Syrian leadership. “And, such attacks could turn into war crimes”.
Russian Federation began its air operations in Syria on September 30 with the aim of supporting the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“Syria’s promises on indiscriminate weapons ring hollow when cluster munitions keep hitting civilians in many parts of the country”, HRW’s Ole Solvang said in a report that documented at least 30 cases of the use of cluster munitions in areas with civilian population.