US calls for war crimes investigation in Syria

Smoke rising from airstrikes that hit Syria [Anadolu Agency]

Image of smoke from the airstrikes that hit in Syria [Anadolu]

Russian and Syrian actions such as bombing hospitals in Syria cry out for a war crimes investigation, US Secretary of State John Kerry said today.

“Last night, the [Syrian] regime attacked yet another hospital and 20 people were killed and 100 people were wounded. Russia, and the regime, owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals and medical facilities and children and women,” Kerry told reporters before a meeting with France’s foreign minister.

“These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes and those who commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions.”

Earlier, US President Barack Obama said he was considering imposing sanctions on the Assad regime following their attacks on civilian targets including medical centres.

A German official, however, called for sanctions against Russia in light of its actions in Syria. Norbert Roettgen, a member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, said: “A lack of consequences and sanctions for the most serious war crimes would be a scandal.”

“The least that Europe should do is use clear language which calls a war crime a war crime.”