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RUSSIA accused Washington yesterday of hindering the fight against terrorism in Syria — a day after the US reportedly bombed troops.
The statement by Russian Army Colonel General Sergey Surovikin came after the UScoalition claimed it had shot down an armed “pro-regime” drone.
The US military claimed the drone had launched missiles at US-backed fighters in alTanf on Syria’s southern border with Iraq.
That was hours after coalition aircraft destroyed two Syrian off-road vehicles it claimed entered the US’s unilaterally declared 35-mile “deescalation zone” around at-Tanf.
And on Tuesday another attack was reported on Syrian forces that destroyed three tanks — following which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied there was any such de-escalation agreement in that area.
The Pentagon statement declared: “The garrison is a temporary coalition location to train vetted forces to defeat Isis and will not be vacated until Isis is defeated.”
But Gen Surovikin argued yesterday that the US coalition airforce and fighters in the region “have blocked the way of the government forces, tasked with defeating [Isis] groups.
“This is a violation of the sovereign right of Syria to protect it borders.”
He called on the coalition to halt further attacks on Syrian forces and “engage in a more substantial fight against Islamic State terrorists on the territory of Syria.”
With the “de-escalation zones” agreement with Western-backed insurgents largely holding, the Syrian army is pushing eastwards on several fronts in a bid to eliminate Isis.
A key objective is to lift the three-year siege of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, which Isis has launched a last-ditch offensive to capture.
On Thursday evening the army reached the front lines of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces west of the Isis stronghold of Raqqa. Military sources said troops captured 37 villages and farms in the rapid advance into Raqqa province.
