Washington: The United States has seen a "marked and troubling" increase in reports of Syrian civilian casualties since the start of the Russian air campaign on September 30, a concern US Secretary of State John Kerry has raised with Moscow, the State Department said on Tuesday.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said non-governmental groups had issued "extremely disturbing" reports that Russian air strikes had killed hundreds of civilians, including emergency response workers, and had hit medical facilities, schools and markets.
"We`ve seen a marked and troubling increase in reports of these civilian casualties since Russia commenced its air campaign there," Toner said, noting that Kerry had raised the issue in a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
