Kerry Demands War Crimes Investigation Against Russia Over Syria

Claims Syria Airstrikes a Deliberate Attempt to Terrorize Public

Speaking today to the press, Secretary of State John Kerry demanded an international war crimes investigation be immediately launched against Russia, saying they “owe the world more than an explanation” over airstrikes against the Nusra Front-held half of the Syrian city of Aleppo.

“This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives,” Kerry insisted, adding that the nothing Russia hit in any of its airstrikes was ever “accidental.”

US officials and their allies have been livid about Russian and Syrian airstrikes against Aleppo, which began after the most recent ceasefire effort failed. Ironically, the ceasefire was supposed to last seven days, and lead to joint US-Russia airstrikes against Nusra in Aleppo anyhow, and after seven days, the US simply didn’t join the strikes.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused the US of protecting Nusra so they could use them as a proxy in the civil war, and says that the major reason the ceasefire failed was the US government’s unwillingness to go along with the joint strike strategy they’d agreed to.

France is pushing for a new resolution at the UN Security Council demanding Russia stop attacking Nusra, though the effort obviously won’t pass since Russia is able to veto it. This makes it primarily a rhetorical tool, with Russia’s veto then becoming a talking point.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.