Saturday, 20 May 2017

Russia calls it “unlawful”; Syria calls it a “massacre.” Latest US airstrike on Syria

“Whatever the reason for the US command to make this decision, this strike is illegitimate and unlawful. It’s yet another harsh violation of Syria’s sovereignty,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“We discussed the massacre that the US aggressor committed yesterday in our country,” said Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s ambassador to the UN.
Both were talking about yesterday’s air strike carried out by US Coalition forces against Syrian military forces.
It seems every time the media attacks reach a fever pitch, Trump tries to take the heat off by bombing Syria. That is, assuming Trump actually ordered this air strike. And it may well be that he didn’t. So far as I’ve been able to tell, there has been no formal statement from the president.
RT is reporting that the attack was on a “pro-government convoy,” and that seems to be the view that Lavrov is taking, or at least pretending publicly to take. “The American command explained the strike on pro-government Syrian forces, saying that these forces represented a threat to opposition which cooperates with the US-led coalition,” he is quoted as saying.
However, South Front seems pretty adamant that the attack was on the Syrian Arab Army. If you click on the image above it will take you to a South Front video with an analysis to that effect. This is also what’s being reported by SANA, the Syrian government-funded news site:
A military source announced on Friday that the so-called international coalition attacked one of the Syrian army’s military points on al-Tanf road in the Syrian Badia.
The attack, which took place at 16:30 pm on Thursday, left a number of people dead, in addition to causing material damage, the source said
Meanwhile, Press TV has posted the following video purporting to show SAA forces on the outskirts of Al Tanf this morning, one day after the attack. Will the US Coalition carry out another airstrike?
The Syrian Free Press is reporting that yesterday–the same day that the US bombed the Syrian Army–ISIS carried out a massacre in the village of Aqareb, in the Syrian province of Hama:
Local sources said that the terrorist groups killed and mutilated a number of locals in the villages, including children and women, and looted their houses.
Head of Salamiyeh National Hospital Dr. Nofal Safar said that bodies of 52 person arrived at the hospital, including 15 bodies of children aged between 3 to 13 years, adding that more than 100 injured persons have been admitted to the hospital, most of them are children and women.
Odd isn’t it? How US attacks on the Syrian Army often seem to coincide with acts of terrorist aggression?
The attack also coincides with peace talks on Syria that are being held in Geneva. The Syrian delegation to that conference is being headed up by Jaafari. Here is what SANA is reporting on that:
In response to a question about the coincidence of the meeting with an American aggression and ISIS massacre against Syrians in addition to the ambition of achieving better results in this round, al-Jaafari said that the delegation discussed during today’s session the U.S. attack on one of the Syrian Arab Army’s military points on al-Tanf road in the Syrian Badia, which took place Thursday evening.
“Minutes ago, we talked extensively about the massacre committed by the US aggression on Thursday in my country. The important thing is that our political ambition is the highest in terms of concerns within all parties involved. Our ambition is supreme because we want to constantly focus on the fight against terrorism, “he said.
Al-Jaafari pointed out that terrorism, represented by terrorist groups and the terrorism committed by countries and governments against Syria which includes the US, French and British aggression whether against civil or military targets, as what happened in Manbaj city when the French bombed the city and killed 200 civilians or as in Raqqa when the US raided the Deaf and Dumb school and as happened in al-Tharda Mountain in Deir Ezzor or as happened yesterday also.
“At every meeting, we would like to remind the attendees that state terrorism is being practiced against our country,” he added.
So is the US, or at any rate the Deep State, deliberately trying to sabotage the peace talks? We have seen that before as well.
Interestingly, at least one Russian, has no illusions on who was targeted in yesterday’s attack. Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov states unequivocally that is was the Syrian Army:

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