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Russia urges investigation of US military crimes in Raqqa — deputy ambassador to UN

The US military has razed to the ground Syria’s Raqqa as a result of a barbaric military campaign it was waging together with the forces under its control, Gennady Kuzmin recalled

UNITED NATIONS, April 8. /TASS/. Crimes committed by the US military in Syria’s Raqqa, where dozens of civilians were killed, must be investigated, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Gennady Kuzmin, said at the UN General Assembly hearings devoted to human rights in Syria.

"We have not forgotten that the US military has razed to the ground Syria’s Raqqa as a result of a barbaric military campaign it was waging together with the forces under its control. Crimes committed by the US military in the course of that unprecedentedly brutal military operation must be investigated," he said.

The Russian diplomat recalled that "as a result of a large-scale military operation by the US involving combat aircraft and armored vehicles dozens of Syrian civilians, including children, were killed."

In the summer and autumn of 2017, the Syrian Democratic Forces were fighting against the Islamic State group (terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) for control of Raqqa. The US-led international coalition was providing air support. The air strikes resulted in heavy civilian casualties.