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Jets strike U.S.-backed forces in eastern Syria
16
September, 2017
BEIRUT
(Reuters) - U.S.-backed militias in Syria said they came under attack
on Saturday from Russian jets and Syrian government forces in Deir
al-Zor province, a flashpoint in an increasingly complex battlefield.
The
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab
militias fighting with the U.S.-led coalition, said six of its
fighters were wounded in the strike.
The
Pentagon said Russia bombed a position east of the Euphrates river
where it knew SDF fighters and coalition advisers were stationed. The
jets did not injure coalition forces, it said.
There
was no immediate comment from Moscow or Damascus.
Washington
and Moscow support separate offensives in the Syrian conflict, with
both advancing against Islamic State militants in the eastern region
that borders Iraq.
“Our
forces east of the Euphrates were hit with an attack from the Russian
aircraft and Syrian regime forces, targeting our units in the
industrial zone,” the SDF said in a statement.
The
SDF accused Damascus of trying to obstruct its fighters. Such attacks
“waste energies that should be used against terrorism ... and open
the door to side conflicts,” it said.
The
assaults by the Russian-backed Syrian army and the U.S.-backed SDF
have at times raised fears of clashes that could stoke tensions
between the competing world powers.
Both
offensives have converged on Islamic State from opposite sides of the
Euphrates river that bisects oil-rich Deir al-Zor, Islamic State’s
last major foothold in Syria.
Syrian
troops with Iran-backed militias have closed in from the west since
last week, while the SDF advances from the east.
Russian
and U.S. battles against Islamic State in Syria have mostly stayed
out of each other’s way, with the Euphrates often acting as a
dividing line. Talks have been under way to extend a formal
demarcation line, officials have said.
The
U.S. coalition has said the SDF does not plan to enter Deir al-Zor
city, where Syrian soldiers have broken an Islamic State siege that
lasted since 2014.
Still,
in June, the SDF accused the Syrian military of bombing its positions
in Raqqa province, and the United States shot down a government
warplane in Syria’s crowded airspace.
ACROSS
THE RIVER
Ahmed
Abu Khawla, the commander of the SDF’s Deir al-Zor military
council, said Russian or Syrian fighter jets flew in from government
territory before dawn on Saturday.
The
warplanes struck as the SDF waged “heated and bloody battles” in
the industrial zone on the eastern bank, seizing factories from
Islamic State militants, he said.
“We
have requested explanations from the Russian government,” he told
Reuters. “We have asked for explanations from the coalition ... and
necessary action to stop these jets.”
The
air raid came a day after Khawla said his fighters would not let
Syrian government forces cross the Euphrates. On Friday, he warned
the army and its allies against firing across the river, which he
said they had done in recent days.
The
Russian foreign ministry said units of the Syrian army had already
crossed.
A
senior aide to President Bashar al-Assad said the government would
fight any force, including the U.S.-backed fighters, to recapture the
entire country.
“I‘m
not saying this will happen tomorrow ... but this is the strategic
intent,” Bouthaina Shaaban said in a TV interview.
Syrian
troops and allied forces captured villages on the western bank of the
Euphrates on Saturday, state media said.
Shi‘ite
militias fighting with Damascus also launched attacks against Islamic
State in the south of Deir al-Zor province along the border. Just
over the frontier inside Iraq, the military said Iraqi armed forces
dislodged Islamic State from the natural gas-rich Akashat region.
The
“caliphate” that Islamic State said in 2014 it had established,
spanning both countries, effectively collapsed in July when an Iraqi
offensive captured the city of Mosul. In Syria, the militants have
lost much of their headquarters in Raqqa to the SDF with the help of
air strikes and special forces from the U.S.-led coalition.
U.S.-backed Syrian fighters say will not let government forces cross Euphrates
U.S.-backed
Syrian militias will not let government forces cross the Euphrates
River in their bid to recover eastern Syria, their commander said on
Friday, but Russia said army units had already done so near the city
of Deir al-Zor.
An
aide to President Bashar al-Assad meanwhile said the government would
fight any force, including U.S.-backed militias, in efforts to
recapture the rest of the country.
SDF RELEASES STATEMENT ACCUSING SYRIAN, RUSSIAN WARPLANES OF AIRSTRIKES AGAINST US-BACKED FORES NEAR DEIR EZZOR
Donate
16
September, 2017
The
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has released an official
statement accusing
Russian and Syrian warplanes of conducting airstrikes on the SDF near
the industrial area north of Deir Ezzor city. The
SDF also demanded “the attacking sides to stop these attacks that
do not serve anybody but terrorism and terrorists.”
However,
the SDF has not provided any photos or videos confirming their
claims.
“While SDF forces are achieving great victories against IS [ISIS] mercenaries in al-Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor [Deir Ezzor] and as terrorism reached their end, some parties are attempting to obstruct SDF progress, consuming the energies that must be used against terrorism in addition to threatening the area’s safety and stirring lateral conflicts aiming and aborting struggles against IS mercenaries.
On Saturday dawn (September 16, 2017) at 03:00, our forces in the eastern part of the Euphrates River were exposed to an attack by the Syrian and Russian regimes warplanes that targeted our forces in the Industrial City and in the result of the attack, 6 fighters got wounded with various wounds.
In addition, this area has been liberated from IS mercenaries, and clashes are still ongoing for purging it completely from IS.
We condemn this aggressive attack and demand the attacking sides to stop these attacks that do not serve anybody but terrorism and terrorists. We also assure that these attacks would not undermine our insistence to fight terrorism and our progress in the area would continue till all the area would be purged completely form IS mercenaries’ abomination.”
Besides
the accusations, the
statement confirms that the SDF has not reached the western bank of
the Euhprates River so far and
is still struggling in the industrial area north of Deir Ezzor.
Earlier
on Saturday, reports
appeared that unknown (according to some media activists, Russian and
Syrian) warplanes bombed SDF positions near the industrial area north
of Deir Ezzor.
Pro-government sources denied the claims that the Syrian Air Force
bombed the SDF.
However,
if the airstrikes really were conducted (by Russian and or Syrian
warplanes), this was a clear signal to the SDF and the US-led
coalition.
Probably,
the SDF has not expected that the Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance
could implement the same strategy that the US-led coalition has
implemented to stop the Syrian Army advance towards At Tand at the
Syrian-Iraqi border.
US-Led
Coalition Accuses Russia of Striking US-Backed Forces Near Deir
ez-Zor
Following
the reports of six SDF fighters injured in an air strike in Syria
Pentagon blames Russian air forces.
16
September, 2017
MOSCOW
(Sputnik) —The US-led coalition fighting against Daesh terrorist
group in Syria has accused Russia on Saturday of attacking the Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) near the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor.
Pentagon
claimed that when Russia bombed a target near Deir ez-Zor it knew
that the SDF units and coalition advisers were there.
"At
approximately 12:30 a.m. GMT Sept. 16, Russian forces struck a target
east of the Euphrates River in Syria near Dayr Az Zawr, causing
injuries to Coalition partner forces. Russian munitions impacted a
location known to the Russians to contain Syrian Democratic Forces
and Coalition advisors. Several SDF fighters were wounded and
received medical care as a result of the strike. Multinational
Coalition troops advising and assisting the SDF were present but not
wounded as a result of the Russian strike," the statement read.
Earlier
in the day, a Kurdish source told Sputnik that at least six Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters were injured in a Syrian air force
attack in eastern Syria.
Russia
Fighting Terrorists in Syria Not to Secure a Foothold in Region -
Envoy
The
Russian Armed Forces have not provided any comments yet.
Member
of the Russian upper house defense and security committee Alexey
Pushkov said that Pentagon should remember its own airstrikes on the
Syrian army and arms supplies to jihadists before accusing Russia of
attacking the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“Before
accusing Russia [of attacking the SDF], the Pentagon should remember
how [the United States] bombed positions of the Syrian army and
supplied jihadists with arms worth of $2.5 billion,” Pushkov wrote
on his Twitter page on Saturday.
Moscow
has repeatedly claimed that decisions about the airstrikes in Syria
are made only after thorough verification of the intelligence data.
Since the start of the Russian aerial campaign the West has been
accusing Moscow of targeting so-called moderate opposition factions
in Syria and civilians. Russia and Syria have continuously refuted
these allegations.
The
SDF is an alliance of Arab and Kurdish militias backed by the US-led
coalition. The SDF units began their own operation against the
Islamic State terrorist group in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor,
where the Syrian government forces are already conducting a
successful operation with the support of the Russian combat planes.
In November 2016, the SDF launched an Operation Euphrates Rage to
retake Raqqa, located west of Deir ez-Zor, from Daesh with the
support of the US-led international coalition.
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