MOSCOW — Three human rights groups announced on Monday a legal action that they say is the first to target soldiers from the Russian mercenary organization Wagner for crimes committed in Syria, highlighting growing efforts to hold accountable contract soldiers in war zones. The case arose from the swirl of violence in Syria as multiple factions, contract soldiers and proxy forces have fought one another outside the Geneva Conventions or other treaties on the laws of war. The legal filing tries to use a patchwork of national legislation and treaties to plug that hole, what the rights groups called an impunity gap for mercenaries even as they proliferate on modern battlefields. “Unfortunately, they commit grave human rights abuses.”The case, if it ever comes to court, would seem easy to prosecute because those accused filmed themselves killing a man who they claimed was a member of the Islamic State militant group. It is not clear why they recorded the killing, but analysts said that it might have been for propaganda reasons or as a horrific form of advertising.

Source: International New York Times March 15, 2021 12:46 UTC