Alwaght- The commander of Russia’s forces in Syria says the US-led international coalition is impeding the struggle of the Syrian government forces against terrorists.
In a statement on Friday, the commander of Russia’s forces in Syria, Sergey Surovikin, said the US-led coalition, including the Kurdish armed units, provides ISIS terrorists with safe passages to leave their Raqqa stronghold.
"Instead of eliminating terrorists guilty of killing hundreds and thousands of Syrian civilians, the US-led coalition together with the Democratic Forces Union controlled by it enters into collusion with ringleaders of ISIS, who give up the settlements they had seized without fighting and head to the provinces where the Syrian government forces are active," he was quoted by TASS as saying.
According to Surovikin, the command of the Russian force grouping in Syria sees in the Raqqa area militants leaving the city and its suburbs unhindered. "According to available reliable information, in early June ISIS terrorists entered into collusion with the command of the Kurdish armed units, which are part of the Democratic Forces Union, left the populated localities of Tadia and al-Hamam located 19 kilometers southwest of Raqqa offering no resistance and headed toward Palmyra," he said.
All militants’ attempts to leave through the corridor set up in southern Raqqa are thwarted by Russian troops, he added.
However, the stance taken by the United States and the coalition it leads evokes questions from the Russian Defense Ministry. "One gets the impression that the Americans are using ISIS to offer stubborn resistance to the movement of government troops making use of the legend about the fight against international terrorism in Syria," Surovikin said.
However, some Western news agencies are misleading the international community by providing reports about the allegedly violent armed clashes between the coalition and ISIS terrorists in the Raqqa province, he added.
Despite counteraction from the US-led international coalition, the Syrian troops and allied militia have restored during their offensive on the ISIS positions control on the Syrian-Jordanian border at a stretch of 105 km, Surovikin said.
Elsewhere, The Syrian army and allies managed on Friday to control an area of 5000 kilometers in the Desert after they had regained 15000 kilometers, reaching the border with Iraq in northeastern Tanaf city.
The Syrian Army and Armed Forces operating in Deir Ezzor, backed by the air force, thwarted an attack by ISIS terrorists on the southern axis of Deir Ezzor city, inflicting heavy losses upon their ranks and equipment.
