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UN rights chief warns Russia over Syria raids



One side's war crimes do not justify illegal acts by the other, says Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein as Aleppo battle intensifies.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein warned Russia on Tuesday over the use of incendiary weapons in Syria's besieged rebel enclave of eastern Aleppo, and said crimes by one side did not justify illegal acts by the other.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured in air strikes since the collapse of the latest ceasefire and the Syrian government's announcement last month of a Russia-backed offensive to retake Aleppo. 

Repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, have drawn international condemnation - and accusations of war crimes. 

Zeid said that the situation in Aleppo demanded bold new initiatives "including proposals to limit the use of the veto by the permanent members of the Security Council", which would enable the UN body to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"Such a referral would be more than justified given the rampant and deeply shocking impunity that has characterised the conflict and the magnitude of the crimes that have been committed, some of which may indeed amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," he said in a statement.

Syria's government and its allies had undertaken a "pattern of attacks" against targets with special protection under international humanitarian law, including medical units, aid workers and water-pumping stations, he said.

Civilian deaths
According to Fadela Chaib, spokeswoman for the World Health Organization, at least 342 people, including 106 children, had been killed in eastern Aleppo between September 23 and October 2. A further 1,129 people, including 261 children, had been wounded.

Those figures were based on reports from functioning health centres and the true figures were probably much higher, Chaib said.

"As of yesterday, we had only six partially functioning hospitals that are in service, only one hospital that offers trauma services," Chaib told the briefing.

Meanwhile, Syrian state TV reported on Tuesday that shelling by opposition groups killed at least five people and wounded 20 more in government-held areas of Aleppo.

Since fighting first broke out there in 2012, Aleppo has been divided by a frontline between rebel forces in the east and government troops in the west.
source aljazeera

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