By Omer Koparan, Mehmet Burak Karacaoglu
ALEPPO, Syria (AA) - The relatives of civilians killed in attacks by the US in Syria are demanding accountability and compensation.
At least 3,051 civilians were killed in attacks by US-led international coalition forces under the pretext of combating the ISIS/Daesh terror group in Syria from 2014 to 2020, according to information compiled by Anadolu.
US warplanes conducted three airstrikes on the village of Tokar in the southern part of Aleppo's Jarabulus district on Sept. 19, 2016.
A total of 225 civilians were killed in the strikes that targeted settlements where civilians sought refuge from the actions of the ISIS/Daesh and PKK/YPG terror groups.
Anadolu reached out to relatives of those killed.
"There were clashes between Daesh and PKK. Our relatives and acquaintances gathered in this house -- there were about 100 people in this house alone," said Muvasim Abdurrezzak, who survived the airstrike.
He said the strike occurred in the early hours only six people survived in the house and he lost 26 family members.
Abdurrezzak said he wants accountability from the perpetrators and compensation for their losses.
"Whenever I pass by the house where my family died, I think: 'I wish I had never been born. I wish I had died in that attack, I wish I hadn't seen that scene.’ I lost my children and wife. The sole reason for this is the US. I am suffering a lot right now. In Gaza, too, children and women are being killed, and the US is at the forefront of this," he said.
- 'I want those who carried out the attack to be held accountable.'
Hussein Salih, who lost relatives in the attack, said, there were about 100 people in his uncle's house where they took refuge.
"We were sleeping here. I lost my wife and two children in the attack. Two of my children survived. One lost his hand, and the other bears the marks of shrapnel," he said.
Salih said he cannot erase the memory of the attack. He remembers the night of the attack every time he passes the house.
"I want those who carried out the attack to be held accountable. There is no one left to open the doors of many houses in this village -- everyone is dead. Our families are gone, our houses are destroyed. We want our rights from the US. We want them to be held accountable in the court of justice," he added.
"If there is justice, if there are human rights, we want our rights. Only in one day, about 80 children and 70 women were killed in (the US-led) coalition attacks,” said survivor Ahmad Casim.
Casim added that the US was responsible for the deaths.
Bashar Sheikh Musa, who lost his father in the attack, said: "My father was writhing in pain. He was shouting: 'My son, I want to die.' I didn't leave his side, and one hour later, he passed away. We want our rights from the USA. They took everyone's lives."