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Syria accuses French airstrikes of killing 120 civilians in Aleppo

Xinhua, July 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday urged the United Nations (UN) to condemn French airstrikes, which targeted a town in northern Syria, killing 120 civilians, according to state news agency SANA.

The ministry said the French warplanes, part of the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition, struck the village of Tukhan al-Kubra in the northern countryside of the town of Manbej in Aleppo province on Tuesday morning, committing a "bloody massacre" against civilians there.

Entire families were wiped out as a result of the "intense" shelling by the French air forces, said the ministry in statements sent to the UN and affiliated organizations.

"The French aggression has killed 120 civilians, most of whom were kids, women and elderly people," said the statement, adding that the fate of tens of other civilians is still unknown.

Earlier on Tuesday, reports of airstrikes targeting Manbej were first released by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The watchdog group said the U.S.-led coalition struck Manbej, as part of ongoing military showdown there between the Islamic State (IS) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed Syrian rebel group, which unleashed an offensive under U.S. air cover last May for the control of the town.

The Syrian ministry said the U.S. warplanes carried out airstrikes against Manbej on Monday, killing 20 civilians.

Meanwhile, the ministry repeated its line that the U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria are "illegal."

It accused the coalition of pointing its weapons against the "innocent civilians and infrastructure, instead of pointing them to the terrorist groups."

"Syria stresses that whoever wants to battle the terrorists, must coordinate with the Syrian government," said the statement.

It said the Western claims of a moderate opposition in Syria has become "a shame and unacceptable."

"The United States, Qatar, France, Saudi Arabia and Britain continue supporting the terrorist groups in Syria, which is a clear sign of the involvement of these countries with the terrorist groups," said the ministry.

The ministry continued that such crimes will not dissuade the Syrian army from carrying out its duty in fighting the terror groups.

The U.S.-led anti-terror coalition has been backing the SDF to capture the town since last May, so far laying a siege on the IS fighters and some 100,000 civilians in the town.

Manbej has a strategic importance to the U.S.-backed rebels due to its location near Turkey. Capturing Manbej would deprive the IS from a key stronghold near Turkey. Endit