Russia rejects UN report on war crimes in Idlib, Syria

MOSCOW

The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected a report by a UN commission accusing Russia of launching indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

The commission did not get “reliable” information about what happened on the ground in northwestern Syria, said spokesman Dmitry Peskov

In addition, the report does not mention terror activities in the area and so cannot be considered impartial, he said.

"We decisively reject such accusations. They were made just a day or two after the terrorists in Idlib began their campaign against Syrian troops,” said Peskov.

“It is clear that no commission could get reliable information about what is happening on the ground, and, of course, there is nothing said about the offensive actions of terrorist groups, which, at least, makes any judgments of this commission one-sided.”

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria published a report Monday that said the Assad regime committed war crimes in attacking medical facilities around the Idlib de-escalation zone.

It has “reasonable grounds” to believe Russian aircraft took part in bombing incidents last July and August.

"The Russian Air Force did not direct the attacks at a specific military objective, amounting to the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas," the report said.

Idlib, just across Turkey’s southern border, falls within a de-escalation zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018.

But the Syrian regime and its allies have consistently broken the terms of the agreement, launching frequent attacks inside the territory, where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield on Sunday after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred in an Assad regime airstrike in Idlib.

Under the 2018 deal with Russia, Turkish troops were in Idlib to protect civilians from attacks by the Assad regime and its allies.

More than 1,300 civilians have been killed in the Idlib de-escalation zone in such attacks, sending 1 million refugees towards Turkey's border with Syria.