A UN panel says the evacuation of eastern Aleppo, after months of siege and aerial bombing by Russian and Syrian forces, was one of many war crimes committed by those fighting for control of Syria’s once largest city.
The findings come amid open-ended peace talks mediated by a UN envoy, and could bolster opposition demands for a political transition in which Syrian President Bashar Assad would cede power — something the government has adamantly rejected.
Syrian residents fleeing the violence gather at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, in the Maysaloun neighborhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo on December 8, 2016. (AFP/Youssef Karwashan)
The Commission of Inquiry on Syria unveiled a report looking at violations by all parties in last year’s battle for Aleppo, including the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, and the use of chemical agents and cluster munitions.
The panel singled out a “particularly egregious attack” in which Syrian warplanes targeted a humanitarian aid convoy.
“The scale of what happened in Aleppo is unprecedented in the Syrian conflict,” says the commission’s chairman, Paulo Pinheiro.
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