A U.S. military spokesman on Tuesday accused the human rights group Amnesty International of unfairly labeling the United States a war criminal over the deaths of innocent civilians in Syria last October.
In a just-released Amnesty International report, the group said the U.S.-led coalition failed to take adequate steps to “minimize civilian harm,” while repeatedly using “explosive weapons in populated areas where they knew civilians were trapped.”
Amnesty International said its investigators, who visited 42 sites and interviewed 112 civilian residents in Raqqa, Syria, found that many of the coalition strikes violated international humanitarian law.
“There is strong evidence that Coalition air and artillery strikes killed and injured thousands of civilians, including in disproportionate or indiscriminate attacks that violated international humanitarian law and are potential war crimes,” the report said.
That provoked a strong response from Col. Thomas Veale, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, who briefed reporters at the Pentagon.
He said the group never discussed its findings with the coalition, and failed take into account what the U.S. and its coalition partners have said publicly about efforts to minimize unintended civilian casualties.
“My biggest objection to the Amnesty report is the prima facie argument … that the coalition violated international law,” Veale said. “They are literally judging us guilty until proven innocent. That’s a bold rhetorical move by an organization that fails to check the public record or consult the accused.”
The U.S. says it has conducted the most precise air campaign in the history of warfare.
“We adhere to a meticulous targeting and strike process that always aims to minimize harm to noncombatants and civilian infrastructure,” Veale said, blaming the civilian death toll squarely on the Islamic State.
“I think the report underscores the human tragedy of this war, which was brought on by an evil criminal organization that, at its peak, subjected 7.7 million Iraqis and Syrians to its brutal rule,” he said.
“Thanks to the coalition and our partners, those people and their homes have been liberated. In fact, I’d point out that Amnesty’s visit to Raqqa for 11 days in February was made possible by ISIS’ defeat there last year.”
Amnesty International said in the last hours before Raqqa fell, a coalition “blitz” wiped out entire families in central Raqqa, where civilians were being used as human shields by ISIS, whose fighters were later granted safe passage out of the city.
“If the coalition and their [Syrian Democratic Forces] allies were ultimately going to grant IS fighters safe passage and impunity, what possible military advantage was there in destroying practically an entire city and killing so many civilians?” said Benjamin Walsby, Middle East researcher at Amnesty International.
“We were very clear that we disagreed with the agreement,” said Veale, who said the evacuation plan did not involve the coalition, but was worked out by forces on the ground. “Part of working by, with and through partners entails accepting local solutions to local issues,” he said.
