War of annihilation
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“WAR OF ANNIHILATION” DEVASTATING TOLL ON CIVILIANS, RAQQA – SYRIA
Amnesty International 50
Unexploded MK 82 bomb, dropped by the Coalition, in a street in the centre of Raqqa. Months after the recapture of Raqqa unexploded munitions still littered Raqqa, in places where they posed a threat to civilians and where they could have easily been removed. © Amnesty International
mortars locally produced by IS. © Amnesty International
“WAR OF ANNIHILATION” DEVASTATING TOLL ON CIVILIANS, RAQQA – SYRIA
Amnesty International 51 KEY WEAPONS USED IN RAQQA BY THE WARRING PARTIES
MK 82 AND MK 84 BOMBS Manufacturers: US, UK, France Users: US, UK, France Net Explosive Weight: 199.5lb (90kg) / 992lb (450kg) 95
Minimum Safe Distance: 584m / 997m 96
Standard Mk 82 500lb bombs and Mk 84 2,000lb bombs can be fitted with Paveway II/IV kits to become laser-guided bombs, or JDAM tail kits to become GPS-guided weapons. Both bombs then have a circular error probable (CEP) of less than 5m. 97
AGM-114 HELLFIRE GUIDED MISSILE Manufacturer: US User: US, UK Net Explosive Weight: 10kg Minimum Safe Distance: 280m These guided missiles are the standard armament of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones. M795 155MM ARTILLERY PROJECTILE Manufacturer: US User: US Net Explosive Weight: 14.3kg Minimum Safe Distance: 316m Using M777 howitzers, the US fired 100% of the artillery rounds into Raqqa, the majority of which were unguided M795 high-explosive projectiles, with a CEP of over a hundred meters. Some of the M795s were fitted with M1156 Precision Guided Kits (PGKs), which reduce the CEP to 10m, but because they cost USD8,000 per kit, ten times the amount of a standard projectile fuze, few have been purchased by the US Army or Marine Corps, and they constituted a relatively small percentage of the weapons used. 98
Manufacturer: US User: SDF Net Explosive Weight: 3kg Minimum Safe Distance: 190m The standard 120mm mortar of the US military, with a range of approximately four miles, these weapons were provided to the SDF for their use. 99 They can be identified by the M1020 ignition cartridges on the tail booms that survive detonation. 220MM MORTARS Manufacturer: IS User: IS Net Explosive Weight: Approximately 9kg Minimum Safe Distance: 270m IS designed and manufactured these mortars in factories across their territory. They are often filled with a homemade explosive using precursors imported from Turkey. 100 In addition to the munitions highlighted above, Amnesty International researchers identified a variety of small arms and other weapons used by the combatants in Raqqa, including Yugoslavian M79 Osa rockets, M60 High- explosive Anti-tank (HEAT) recoilless rifles, and M74 120mm mortars; Soviet TM-62 anti-tank landmines, F-853U 160mm mortars, and 122mm artillery projectiles; and 81mm and 60mm mortars, PG-7 and PG-9 rocket-propelled grenades, and AK-pattern rifles from several countries.
95 All ordnance explosive weights, except where noted, available at ordata.info, a project of James Madison University’s Center for International Stabilization and Recovery. 96 Minimum safe distances calculated based upon the net explosive weight of the munition and a k-factor of 328, the “absolute safe distance” standard used by the US Department of Defense, available at https://www.dau.mil/cop/ammo/DAU%20Sponsored%20Documents/K%20Factor.pptx 97 For JDAM, see http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104572/joint-direct-attack-munition-gbu-313238/ , and for Paveway systems, see https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/gbu-12.htm 98 For an analysis of costs per fuze, and the numbers purchased by the Department of Defense, see https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/magazine/army-artillery-budget-howitzer.html 99 See https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m120-specs.htm 100 Per conversation with Damien Spleeters, Head of Regional Operations in Iraq and Syria for Conflict Armament Research. CAR has documented the existence of the same IS mortars in Tal Afar and al Qa’im, and the extensive use of Turkish precursors in IS-manufactured weapons throughout their area of control. See: www.conflictarm.com/download-file/?report_id=2568&file_id=2574
“WAR OF ANNIHILATION” DEVASTATING TOLL ON CIVILIANS, RAQQA – SYRIA
Amnesty International 52 6.
COALITION RESPONSES TO CONCERNS OVER CIVILIAN CASUALTIES “We are the good guys and the innocent people on the battlefield know the difference.” 101
James Mattis, US Defense Secretary
Officials representing CJTF-OIR led by the US have consistently failed to acknowledge the extent of the damage – human and material – wrought on the civilian population of Raqqa by the air and artillery strikes launched by Coalition forces, as have their civilian superiors. On the contrary, Coalition officials have repeatedly dismissed reports of civilian casualties as unfounded. Amnesty International has requested detailed information from CJTF-OIR about the strikes detailed in this report, and about all the strikes carried out by coalition forces, including exact dates, locations and munitions used, and about any investigations carried out so far. No response was received at the time of writing this report. Nine days before the Coalition’s Raqqa offensive began, on 28 May 2017, US Defense Secretary James Mattis appeared on national television in the US and called for a “war of annihilation” against IS. 102 When
asked about civilian casualties he responded: “Civilian casualties are a fact of life in this sort of situation… We do everything humanly possible consistent with military necessity, taking many chances to avoid civilian casualties at all costs.” 103
Eleven days after this statement US forces fired white phosphorus munitions over the Jezra intersection and the battle was underway. 104
As mentioned earlier, Amnesty International’s August 2017 report detailed its concerns about civilian casualties from seemingly disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate Coalition attacks, notably artillery
101
“Coalition SOF are in Raqqa, and they are close to the front lines,” said Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition battling ISIS in Syria and Iraq, in “Boots on the ground: Elite U.S. troops are in Raqqa near the Islamic State's front line”, Military Times, 9 June 2017, available at https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2017/06/09/boots-on-the-ground-elite-u-s-troops-are-in- raqqa-near-the-islamic-state-s-front-line/ “SAS soldiers, who have been working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, are understood to be on the ground in a supporting role”, in “SAS helps launch dawn assault in final battle to capture Raqqa”, The Times, 7 June 2017, available at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sas-help-launch-dawn-assault-as-final-push-on-raqqa-begins-9fg5fz385 “Syrie: Sylvie Goulard confirme la présence de forces spéciales françaises”, Europe1, 26 May 2017, available at http://www.europe1.fr/politique/sylvie-goulard-nous-avons-des-forces-speciales-en-syrie-3341933 (in French). 102
“Fight against ISIS has shifted to ‘annihilation tactics’”, by Kathyrn Watson, CBS News, 28 May 2017, available at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fight-against-isis-has-shifted-to-annihilation-tactics-mattis-says/. 103 US Secretary of State James Mattis, quoted in “Defense Secretary Mattis says US policy against IS is now ‘annihilation’”, The Guardian, 28 May 2017, available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/28/james-mattis-defense-secretary-us-isis-annihilation 104
Amnesty International, Press Release, 16 June 2017, available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/06/syria-expert-analysis- shows-usled-coalition-use-of-white-phosphorus-may-amount-to-war-crime/ Yüklə 5,63 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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