US airstrikes leave over a dozen civilian casualtis in Syria

More than a dozen civilians are dead or injured after US warplanes launch fresh airstrikes in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo.

Local sources said warplanes hit targets in al-Nawajah village east of of Manbij on Saturday, leaving at least 15 people dead or injured.

Some of the wounded victims are said to be in a critical condition, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement from London.

The fresh attack comes shortly after at least 140 civilians were killed in French and US airstrikes in Manbij on Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to the Syrian Foreign Ministry, French warplanes struck the village of Tukhan al-Kubra north of Manbij, killing 120 civilians. The fatalities came a day after a US airstrike killed 20 civilians in Manbij.

Last month, at least 45 civilians were killed in two separate US-led airstrikes in the Syrian city, which is mostly populated by the Kurdish community.

On Thursday, opposition groups in Syria called on the US and allies to suspend airstrikes following the deaths of some 140 civilians in Aleppo until an investigation is completed into the deaths.

The Syrian government has written to the United Nations, asking the world body to condemn the airstrikes which are carried out without authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

The US-led coalition has been backing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces, to capture Manbij since last May.

The coalition has also been conducting airstrikes against purported Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014.

The Syrian government has criticized the unauthorized aerial campaign, saying it has damaged the country’s infrastructure instead of making a dent in the Takfiri group’s capabilities.