RantCrush Top 5: January 12, 2017

A group of Syrian activists claim to have evidence that Russian forces and the Iranian-backed militia committed war crimes in Aleppo. The activists said that they have handed the information over to the U.N., and its Commission of Inquiry, the COI, has already forwarded some of the evidence to national authorities. Syria and Russia have denied all allegations. But Fadel Abdul Ghany, head of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said that there are similarities between violations by the Syrian regime and violations by Russian forces. His organization has recorded 1,305 alleged cases of murder of civilians by Russian forces; a third of the victims were children. It is also believed that Russia specifically targeted schools and hospitals. Now the next step is for the COI to fully investigate, and issue a report on the allegations in February.

#Russia led 304 attacks in #Aleppo that are defined as war crimes against humanity by UN #TrumpLeaks #trump #syria https://t.co/DEJpGmkKxH

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) January 2, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.