據(jù)美國《紐約時報(bào)》13日報(bào)道，2019年美軍在敘利亞發(fā)動的一場空襲行動可能觸犯了戰(zhàn)爭罪。這場聲稱針對伊斯蘭國的行動卻造成64名婦女和兒童死亡，而美軍卻掩蓋了這一消息。
The U.S. military covered up 2019 airstrikes in Syria that killed up to 64 women and children, a possible war crime, during the battle against Islamic State, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
美媒：美軍知曉空襲卻隱瞞
報(bào)道稱，在兩次針對敘利亞Baghuz附近地區(qū)的連續(xù)空襲行動中，美軍派出了機(jī)密級別的特殊作戰(zhàn)單元，另有地面作戰(zhàn)相配合。
The two back-to-back airstrikes near the town of Baghuz were ordered by a classified American special operations unit tasked with ground operations in Syria, according to the report.
報(bào)道中還原了發(fā)生在2019年3月18日的一次空襲：當(dāng)時美軍無人機(jī)正在該地上空盤旋，尋找軍事目標(biāo)，卻只發(fā)現(xiàn)一大群婦女兒童。然而此時，F(xiàn)15戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)在沒有任何警示的情況下，向人群投下一枚有500磅炸藥的的炸彈，爆炸隨即將人群吞沒。濃煙散去后，部分幸存者尋找掩體躲避。隨后又有飛機(jī)先后投下兩枚有2000磅炸藥的炸彈，幾乎無人生還。據(jù)在美軍卡塔爾基地的官員回憶，當(dāng)時從無人機(jī)捕捉到的畫面上看到這一切，讓人目瞪口呆。
當(dāng)時有美軍在內(nèi)部線路中發(fā)問空襲為何人所為，還有人回復(fù)“我們剛剛朝50多個婦女兒童扔了炸彈”……最初的戰(zhàn)損評估很快發(fā)現(xiàn)，死亡人數(shù)大約為70人。
《紐約時報(bào)》報(bào)道稱，這場空襲是美軍針對伊斯蘭國戰(zhàn)爭中造成的最大規(guī)模平民死亡事件之一，但是美軍在獲悉后卻從未公開。當(dāng)時，軍方很快得知了死亡人數(shù)。有法律方面的官員指出此舉可能涉嫌戰(zhàn)爭罪行為，需要進(jìn)行調(diào)查。然而，隨后的每一步中，軍方都做了“安排”，包括掩蓋災(zāi)難性的空襲、降低死亡人數(shù)等。相關(guān)報(bào)道被延后、“凈化”、列為機(jī)密。美國為首的聯(lián)合部隊(duì)推平了爆炸地點(diǎn)，而最高級別的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人并不知情。美國防部有關(guān)部門曾開啟獨(dú)立調(diào)查，然而調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)的匯報(bào)卻被停滯并抹去任何有關(guān)空襲的內(nèi)容。
路透社等外媒隨即轉(zhuǎn)載了《紐約時報(bào)》的相關(guān)報(bào)道
美軍：系合法自衛(wèi)
13日，美軍中央司令部發(fā)布聲明，重申他們提供給《紐約時報(bào)》的空襲死亡人數(shù)為80人，其中包括16名伊斯蘭國士兵和4名平民。軍方表示，尚不清楚其余60人是否為平民，因?yàn)閶D女和兒童也可能是戰(zhàn)斗人員。
In a statement on Saturday, U.S. Central Command reiterated the account it gave the newspaper that 80 people were killed in the strikes including 16 Islamic State fighters and four civilians. The military said it was unclear if the other 60 people were civilians, partly because women and children could have been combatants.
在聲明中，軍方稱空襲為“合法自衛(wèi)”，并且也已經(jīng)采取了“合適的行為避免平民傷亡。”
In Saturday's statement, the military said the strikes were "legitimate self-defense," proportional and that "appropriate steps were taken to rule out the presence of civilians."
美軍方表示，這60名死者身份難以確定，是因?yàn)樵谝曨l中“觀察到多名婦女和至少一名兒童持有武裝”，并且還稱這60人中的大部分都有可能是戰(zhàn)斗人員。
The number of civilians among the 60 fatalities could not be determined because "multiple armed women and at least one armed child were observed" in video of the events, it said, adding that the majority of the 60 were likely combatants.
《紐約時報(bào)》方面則表示，其報(bào)道來自涉密文件、機(jī)密報(bào)告的說明，以及對直接相關(guān)人員的采訪。報(bào)道中還寫道，當(dāng)時在場目睹空襲視頻的空軍律師認(rèn)為，相關(guān)行動可能涉嫌犯下戰(zhàn)爭罪，他隨后還提醒了美國防部的調(diào)查部門以及美國參議院軍事委員會，然而這兩方面也沒采取任何行動。
The newspaper said its report was based on confidential documents and descriptions of classified reports, as well as interviews with personnel directly involved. An Air Force lawyer present in the operations center at the time believed the strikes were possible war crimes and later alerted the Defense Department's inspector general and the Senate Armed Services Committee when no action was taken, the Times said.
空襲兩年后，律師發(fā)現(xiàn)監(jiān)管部門依然沒有行動，他給參議院軍事委員會寫了郵件，并告知其擁有最高機(jī)密，還補(bǔ)充寫道：“因?yàn)榘l(fā)送這封郵件，我正把自己置于面臨軍事報(bào)復(fù)的巨大危險(xiǎn)之中。”
Two years after the strike, seeing no evidence that the watchdog agency was taking action, the lawyer emailed the Senate Armed Services Committee, telling its staff that he had top secret material to discuss and adding, “I’m putting myself at great risk of military retaliation for sending this.”
綜合來源：路透社，紐約時報(bào)，觀察者網(wǎng)，CGTN
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