Russians and Assad killing many more civilians than Isis, says former hostage

[uhnope]

Source: Irish Times

Nearly five years after it started, the war in Syria has claimed some 300,000 lives. Now the Russian air force is pounding the country’s second city, Aleppo, and 40,000 refugees trapped at the Turkish border are fleeing the Russians, not Islamic State.

The French journalist and author Nicolas Hénin observes Syria’s tragedy with more knowledge and sorrow than most. Hénin was held hostage by Islamic State, also known as Isis, for 10 months in 2013 and 2014. Seven of his fellow hostages were killed.

Hénin’s book, Jihad Academy: The Rise of Islamic State, was recently published in English by Bloomsbury. In 10 brief chapters, he seeks to “destroy the cliches” about the Syrian war, chief among them the idea that Islamic State is responsible for most of the violence. “It’s important to bear in mind the proportion of responsibility, because western governments are tempted to put [the Syrian president and dictator] Bashar al-Assad back in the saddle,” Hénin says. “If you look at estimates since the beginning of the conflict, Bashar al-Assad is responsible for between seven and 10 times as many civilian deaths as Islamic State.”

Primitive barrel bombs lobbed from Syrian helicopters killed the most civilians. “Over the past two months, Russia has become the actor who is killing the most civilians in Syria today,” Hénin says. “It’s estimated the Russians are killing 20 times as many civilians as Islamic State.”

Read more: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/russians-and-assad-killing-many-more-civilians-than-isis-says-former-hostage-1.2527250

[hedda_foil]

1. I'm putting this down to propaganda until further notice.

[bluedigger]

2. Not surprising, really.

You can't expect an upstart terrorist organization to operate at the same levels of efficiency as a couple of decades old State sponsors of terrorism.

[7962]

3. I said before this started that Russia didnt care about civilian casualties,

or the world opinion about them. I also said they would have a much bigger impact when they started BECAUSE they dont care. They never have cared. But Assad will remain in control because of them.
This is the old fashioned way of winning a war