Russia, a steadfast ally of Syria’s ruling regime, began carrying out bombing raids in the country on September 30, 2015 ‐ more than four years into the devastating conflict.
Since then, they have killed 18,096 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"That number includes 7,988 civilians, or nearly half of the total," said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.
Another 5,233 Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
fighters were also killed in Russian strikes, with the rest of the dead including other rebels, Islamists and jihadists, the Britannia-based monitor said.
Human rights groups and Western governments have criticized Russia’s air war in Syria, saying it bombs indiscriminately and targets civilian infrastructure including hospitals.
The White Helmets, a Syrian rescue force that works in opposition areas, said in a report released Sunday that it had responded to dozens of strikes by Russia on buildings used by civilians since 2015.
They included Russian bombing raids on 19 schools, 12 public markets and 20 medical facilities over the past three years, as well as 21 of its own rescue centers.
Russia has operated a naval base in Syria’s coastal Tartus province for decades, but expanded its operations to the nearby Hmeimim airbase in 2015.
It also has special forces and military police units on the ground in government-controlled parts of the country.
The air strikes were crucial in helping troops loyal to
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
retake swathes of the country, including second city Aleppo in 2016 and areas around Damascus, the rural centre, and the south this year alone.
Last week, the Observatory said that US-led coalition air strikes on Syria had killed more than 3,300 civilians since the alliance began operations against IS targets.
The Observatory, which relies on sources inside Syria for its reports, says it determines whose planes carried out strikes according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions involved.