UN says 'war crimes' committed in Aleppo offensive

NEW YORK

Russia and the Syrian regime “know they are committing war crimes”, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday.

“This morning, we awoke to reports of strikes on two more hospitals in Aleppo,” Ban told a debate at the global body on the protection of civilians.

“Let us be clear. Those using ever more destructive weapons know exactly what they are doing. They know they are committing war crimes,” he said.

“Imagine the destruction,” Ban said. “People with limbs blown off. Children in terrible pain with no relief. Infected. Suffering. Dying, with nowhere to go and no end in sight.

“Imagine a slaughterhouse. This is worse. Even a slaughterhouse is more humane,” he said.

Ban said the war in Syria has led to the fleeing or killing of 95 percent of the medical staff in Aleppo, where nearly 275,000 civilians are under siege.

“This is a war against Syria’s health workers,” he said.

Since Sept. 19, when the Syrian regime ended a week-long cease-fire brokered by U.S. and Russia, almost 500 civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in attacks on the war-battered city.