The U.S. says airstrikes on Syria will continue, despite reports of dozens of civilian deaths and the pleas of opposition activists and human rights groups.

The Guardian reports:

Anas Alabdah, president of the Syrian National Coalition, has called on the U.S. to suspend its airstrikes until it performs a thorough investigation into the attack near the contested northern city of Manbij on Tuesday that Syrian activists say killed at least 73 civilians—and possibly more than 125.

[….] The U.S. has launched at least 12 airstrikes since the destruction in the village of Tokkhar, according to a daily tally released by the military. Asked by the Guardian if the military will pause airstrikes, Army Colonel Christopher Garver, chief spokesman for the U.S. military command in Iraq and Syria, replied: “No. Operations continue against Daesh,” another name for ISIS.

The escalation in violence follows U.S.-backed Syrian fighters giving ISIS militants 48 hours to leave Manbij as part of a “last-ditch effort to protect civilian lives,” the Associated Press reports.

UNICEF estimated this week that “35,000 children are trapped in and around Manbij with nowhere safe to go. In the past six weeks, and as violence has intensified, over 2,300 people were reportedly killed in the area, among them dozens of children.”