Rights group: 1,015 Syrian civilians killed in Russian strikes

The number of civilians killed in Russian raids in Syria since September has reached 1,015, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The civilian victims of Russian warplanes include 238 children, the observatory revealed in a statement.

The statement also said that the Russian raids have killed 893 Islamic State fighters and 1,141 from other militant factions who oppose Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, including Al-Nusra Front.

Moscow says that its airstrikes target “terrorists” only while Western countries accuse it of targeting anti-Assad fighters that are considered more “moderate” than Daesh.

An Amnesty International report published on 23 December accused Russia of killing “hundreds of civilians” and causing major destruction as a result of its raids in Syria. It added that Russian operations in Syria could amount to “war crimes”.

The Russian Ministry of Defence rejected Amnesty’s report saying it is full of “clichés and fakes”.