SYRIA: 59 killed, 139 injured in govt air strikes on besieged rebel

He said they can not be repeated – no matter what reasons the coalition gave to justify an attack. According to the United Nations, nearly 12 percent of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition in Eastern Ghouta; the highest rate recorded since the conflict began.

The attack in Deir el-Zour province in northeastern Syria occurred in crowded battle space.

The Syrian government, though, called the act a “barbaric aggression” and said the real goal of the “so-called worldwide coalition” was to support the Islamic State terror network.

Ankara has been angered by USA support for the Kurdish-led forces has infuriated Turkey, which views growing Kurdish power as a security threat along its frontier.

Many believe pro-government forces are pushing for a decisive outcome. Previous friction was reported before, but Wednesday’s incident appeared to be the largest since past year.

“With the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation fully controlling the skies over Afghanistan, there is every reason to believe they had a hand in that, or at least, did not hamper these flights, despite the fact that Washington and Brussels deny that”, Kabulov said.

He pointed out that when Raqqa was liberated, the whole world saw how Daesh militants were simply relocated from there to another area controlled by Kurdish forces, adding that such an act would’ve been impossible without USA approval.

On Wednesday, Syrian air defense systems intercepted an Israeli air attack on a military position near Damascus, the Syria military said. A Russia-backed peace conference last month was boycotted by the main Syrian opposition group.

The report said the tensions with Israel are particularly precarious because the “rules of the game” will probably be worked out through attack and response, risking a wider war. This is an operation directed against Turkey.

Ford was the last USA ambassador to Syria and now teaches at Yale University and is a fellow at the Middle East Institute.

“We would like to see a cease-fire, the end of the war, but the terrorists, I am not sure, are in agreement”, Russia’s United Nations envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, told reporters.

The United States backed the plea but Russian Federation – a longtime ally of Syria’s government – shrugged it off. The media cited reports of dozens killed and wounded.

SANA called it an “aggression”. It later reported that 10 strikes by the coalition had caused “massive destruction”. He said they started the attack near oil fields on the east side of the Euphrates.

Those attacks killed about 100 Syrian soldiers, the USA military said. “It is now normal”. The official spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Following the withdrawal of regime forces and Iran-backed militia groups, Daesh was able to advance some 30 kilometers into Idlib where it managed to wrest control of the villages of Deribiye and Niha.

“I am heartbroken by what the children of Syria continue to suffer because of actions taken by adults actions that show total disregard for the protection, safety and wellbeing of children”, she added.

The head of the International Inquiry commission on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro said in a statement that the ongoing siege of Eastern Ghouta by the government of Syria involves the violation of international law of indiscriminate bombings and deliberate starvation of the civilian populace.

The U.S. airstrike coincides with escalating violence in Syria.

The operation in Afrin, dubbed The Olive Branch, has led to Washington’s ire.

The Syrian government also has been pressing its campaign in a rebel-held area near the capital of Damascus.

Four days of ferocious Syrian government raids on the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta have killed more than 200 civilians, a war monitor said on Thursday.

“A humanitarian ceasefire would enable the delivery of life-saving assistance and the evacuation of hundreds of critically ill patients urgently needing medical treatment” in Eastern Ghouta, he said.

In a statement from the State Department, Washington threw its weight behind a United Nations call for a new ceasefire in Ghouta and demanded that Russian Federation rein in its ally, Bashar Al-Assad. “It means that you have designs against Turkey, against Iran or perhaps even against Russian Federation”, the Turkish leader declared.

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone on Thursday and agreed to strengthen military and security service coordination in Syria, according to the Kremlin.

Speaking at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Istanbul Provincial Consultation and Assessment Meeting, Erdoğan said that such losses were expected during times of war.

Eastern Ghouta is meant to be part of the “de-escalation zones” declared last year as part of an worldwide effort to reduce bloodshed in the almost seven-year-old civil war. Turkey already has deployed troops in Idlib to such posts, and some of its soldiers have come under attack. Turkish army releases statements every day but these are only amusing. This is probably worth the Americans figuring out how to make the Syrian government pay a military price when they do cross that red line and use chemical weapons.