West Wants to Cover Tracks of ‘Barbaric’ Bombings in Raqqa: Russian MoD

The Russian Defense Ministry “has questions” about the sudden move of the so-called anti-Daesh coalition to help civilians in Raqqa.

[“The only explanation of this] is an aspiration to quickly cover up the tracks of the barbaric bombings of the United States and the coalition’s aircraft that have buried thousands of civilians liberated from the Islamic State [Daesh] under the ruins of Raqqa,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said, according to Sputnik.

 Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov called the urgent intention of the US-led coalition members to allocate financial aid to the Syrian Raqqa suspicious amid repeated refusals to deliver humanitarian aid to the Syrians affected by the war.

“Raqqa has not managed to cool down after bombings of the international coalition and the high-ranking officials from Washington, Paris and Berlin have started making statements about the urgent allocation of tens of millions dollars and euros to Raqqa. These millions should allegedly help to restore peaceful life in the city. We welcome such generosity, but we have questions,” Konashenkov said Sunday.

According to the official, over the past two years, Russia has repeatedly asked the United States and European nations to send humanitarian aid to the Syrians affected by war, and has also prepared a list of settlements, where this assistance is needed most of all, without dividing Syrians into “bad” and “good” ones. However, the response was always negative, Konashenkov added.

[“The only explanation of this] is an aspiration to quickly cover up the tracks of the barbaric bombings by the United States and the coalition’s aircraft that have buried thousands of civilians liberated from the Islamic State [Daesh] terrorist group under the ruins of Raqqa,” Konashenkov added.

The spokesman added that the statements made by the US authorities, including the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department, about the crucial role of the Raqqa’s liberation in the struggle against the terrorists and the contribution of the US-led coalition to this fight, also could puzzle.

He assumed that Washington might consider Raqqa was the only place controlled by Daesh in Syria, “a provincial town, with the prewar population of about 200,000 and with the population of no more than 45,000 before the beginning of the coalition’s operation to liberate it that lasted for five months.”

At the same time, Konashenkov said, the Syrian army supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces liberated the city of Deir ez-Zor in 10 days, while it was inhabited by more than 500,000 before the conflict.

On Friday October 20, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), along with US President Donald Trump announced the defeat of Daesh in Raqqa.

 The US president called the gain a “critical breakthrough” and announced that a “transition into a new phase” would be forthcoming.

Russia, along with other countries, has been taking numerous steps to settle the crisis in Syria. These efforts included humanitarian aid to Syrians and contributing to the restoration of the country.

H.M