The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented numerous Russian attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine that may amount to war crimes, a spokeswoman for the commissioner in Geneva said on Friday.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 26 health facilities had been attacked since the start of the war on February 24.
No less than 12 people were killed and 34 injured, according to the WHO.
The High Commission’s spokeswoman said: “Civilians are being killed and maimed in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks,” the spokeswoman said.
Russian forces used rockets and heavy artillery shells near populated areas and attacked from the air.
There were credible reports of the use of cluster munitions.
“We remind the Russian authorities that directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as so-called area bombardments in towns and villages and other forms of indiscriminate attacks, are prohibited by law. internationally and may constitute war crimes”.
She repeated that a building attacked in Mariupol a few days ago was a working maternity hospital.
Representatives of Russia say that there was a camp of Ukrainian fighters in the building.
Seventeen civilians were injured in the attack, said the spokeswoman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Reports that three people were killed were still under investigation.
(Afp/NAN)
