According to the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, US-led airstrikes targeting ISIS, killed 52 Syrian civilians on Friday.
“Airstrikes by the coalition early on Friday on the village of Birmahle in Aleppo province killed 52 civilians,” Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
While there had been fighting in the vicinity, the strike allegedly failed to kill even a single Islamist State fighter.
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Seven of the victims were reportedly children and a further 13 were buried underneath the rubble.
RT reports: The scene was precipitated by clashes between Kurdish militiamen and Syrian rebels on the one hand and the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists on the other, about a mile away.
“But Birmahle is only civilians, with no [ISIS] positions and no clashes,” Abdel Rahman continued, although raids were carried out on a nearby town, where seven militants were killed.
US-led airstrikes have been pummeling rebel positions since September. They are designed to support Kurdish units in Syria and Iraq, who have proved effective at fighting and stalling jihadists, as in the embattled Syrian-Turkish border town of Kobani in January.
Friday marked a major escalation in Syrian civilian deaths caused by the airstrike campaign. Since September, the coalition flyovers have resulted in 66 civilian deaths. Friday added another 52.
Syrian President Bashar Assad repeatedly pointed out that the bombardments are an illegal intervention unauthorized by a UN Security Council resolution, and so violate the sovereignty of Syria
Niamh Harris
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