UN investigators warned Monday that Ankara might bear “criminal responsibility” for war crimes perpetrated against Kurds in northern Syria late last year, including the execution of a popular female politician.
The UN Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in Syria said in its latest report that Turkey could potentially be held criminally liable for severe violations carried out by its allies, the Syrian National Army rebel fighters.
In their report covering the period from July 2019 to January 10 this year, the UN investigators pointed to allegations by displaced Kurdish families and others that Ankara-backed Syrian rebels carried out executions, home confiscations and looting.
They also pointed to an air strike the same day in the same region on a civilian convoy of up to 80 vehicles, including families with children and journalists. Eleven people were killed and 74 injured.
And they highlighted the apparent targeting of “objects necessary for the survival of the civilian population”, including strikes near the Aluk water station on October 9.
“The strike destroyed electricity cables and, as a result, water pumping came to a halt and the water supply for 460,000 people,” the report said.
“The Turkish authorities have either denied involvement in or indicated that they have no record of these incidents,” it said, urging “Turkish authorities to launch (their) own investigations and make the findings public.”
