The United Nations on Tuesday condemned a deadly car bomb attack in the Syrian city of Manbij that killed 20 people, mostly women, and left many others critically injured.
The explosion on Monday – close to the Turkish border – targeted a vehicle transporting seasonal agricultural workers. According to news reports, at least 11 women and three children were among the dead.
It follows another attack just days earlier that killed four civilians and injured nine others, including six children. Monday’s car bombing was reportedly the seventh in just over a month and it marks the deadliest attack inside Syria since the fall of the Assad regime.
The area has been a battleground for Turkish-backed forces and mostly Kurdish fighters. No group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack so far.
“We reiterate that all parties must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing journalists in New York.
“Civilians and civilian infrastructure should never be targeted.”
