Moscow has leveled heavy accusations at U.S.-led coalition forces in
Syria, who it claims is expediting the Islamic State group's exit from
its Raqqa stronghold in an effort to undermine government efforts to
quell terrorist activity in the country.
The charges, made Friday by the commander of Russia's forces in
Syria, Colonel General Sergey Surovkin, contradict Pentagon claims that
U.S. special operators, Kurdish fighters and allied Syrian Democratic
Forces intend to engage in fierce door-to-door urban warfare.
"Instead of
eliminating terrorists guilty of killing hundreds and thousands of
Syrian civilians, the U.S.-led coalition together with the Democratic
Forces Union controlled by it enters into collusion with ringleaders of
the ISIL (Islamic State group), who give up the settlements they had
seized without fighting and head to the provinces where the Syrian
government forces are active," Surovkin said, according to Russian News
Agency TASS.
The commander further
claimed that Russian forces have observed a peaceful exit of the
Islamist militants from Raqqa in the direction of Palmyra, which
allegedly stems from an agreement made between the Islamic State group
and Kurdish forces.
Surovkin added that Islamic State group attempts to flee south from
Raqqa have met a punishing response from Russian troops who destroyed
several convoys. Regardless, the U.S.-led forces' moves raise questions
about the alliance's intentions.
"One gets the
impression that the Americans are using (the Islamic State group) to
offer stubborn resistance to the movement of government troops, making
use of the legend about the fight against international terrorism in
Syria," the commander said, noting that Western news agencies have
assisted Washington's misleading claims by proliferating fabricated
stories about fierce clashes between U.S.-led armed personnel and the
Islamist group.
Surovikin also noted that the U.S. was clearly attempting to hamper
forces of the Syrian Arab Republic who are undertaking efforts to secure
the country's southern border, citing the "absurd assertions” and of
Washington, who "vaguely explains” that government forces pose a threat
to U.S.-led forces.
