人权观察敦促叙利亚军队停止导弹袭击

Human Rights Watch is calling on Syrian forces to end what it calls the indiscriminate use of ballistic missiles in populated areas.

The U.S.-based group said Monday it has investigated nine apparent ballistic missile attacks this year that killed 215 civilians, mainly in the city of Aleppo and its surrounding province.

Aleppo is Syria's largest city, and has been among the key fronts in the civil war between President Bashar al-Assad and rebels trying to push him from power.

Human Rights Watch said there were no apparent military targets near where seven of the attacks took place, causing significant civilian damage with no apparent military advantage.

It criticized the use of ballistic weapons, saying even if there are fighters in a given area, the weapons cannot accurately target them.  The result, the group says, has been "devastating" to civilians.