21 human rights organizations send a letter to the US Pentagon: Responding to Syrian civilians killed in attacks and compensating civilians | United States | Human Rights
On June 30th, according to the U.S. Capitol Hill, on the 29th local time, 21 human rights organizations sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin urging the Pentagon to conduct a transparent and strong investigation into the civilian death attacks that occurred in Syria.
This letter is aimed at addressing a drone airstrike that occurred in northwestern Syria on May 3, which was carried out by the United States Central Command. A few hours after the attack, the US had stated that the target of the attack was a senior leader of Al Qaeda. However, American media such as The Washington Post reported that the victim named Lotfi Hassan Misto was just a civilian herding sheep.
The letter expressed "sustained and serious concerns" about Pentagon policies and wrote, "Civilian deaths are not an unfortunate anomaly, but a systemic problem." The attack on May 3 indicated that more measures must be taken to address systemic issues that have existed for many years, such as target identification errors, widespread lack of transparency, and accountability.
After the attack, the US Department of Defense launched an investigation into the incident. The human rights organization that sent the letter hopes to make the investigation results public and calls on the Pentagon to negotiate with their families, acknowledge the mistake, and provide compensation if they find that the attackers are civilians.