US Continues to Hold Area around Syria’s al-Tanf and Protect 6,000 Terrorists: Russian MoD

MOSCOW-  The United States continues holding the 55 km zone around the Syrian community of al-Tanf where 6,000 militants are staying, Head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev said on Tuesday, according to Itar Tass.

“Perhaps, only our American partners do not want to see up to date how much has been done to revive peaceful life in Syria. They are holding with incomprehensible stubbornness the occupied 55 km area around al-Tanf where 6,000 armed militants are on the loose and are preventing the disbanding of the Rukban refugee camp,” the general said at a session of the inter-departmental coordination headquarters of Russia and Syria for the return of refugees to Syrian territory.

 According to Mizintsev, this is actually the last stronghold of evil, injustice and horror for ordinary Syrian citizens set up by the United States on the territory of the independent state.

“I would like to emphasize once again that Rukban is the territory illegally occupied by the United States and that is why the entire responsibility for the conditions of the life of Syrian citizens is borne solely by the United States,” Mizintsev pointed out.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Igor Tsarikov said that the ministry was concerned over the dubious activity of the United States and its allies in Syria.

“There is growing concern related to the dubious activity of the United State and its allies in Syria. The illegal occupation of the 55 km zone around the base in al-Tanf continues to be the basic source of destabilization in that part of Syria,” he said.

According to Tsarikov, the humanitarian operation held in early November was a failure from the organizational standpoint. Representatives of the UN and the Syrian Red Crescent Society were not let into the occupied US zone, he said.

Humanitarian aid

“The humanitarian aid was distributed by militants of the [Magawir al-Saura] armed grouping. In the absence of the required control, a considerable part of the humanitarian aid failed to reach those who needed it and got into the hands of illegal armed formations,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

While the United States bears full responsibility for the plight of civilians in that area, the mistakes of the first humanitarian convoy may be repeated at the UN tacit consent in the period of conducting the second humanitarian operation in the Rukban camp, he said.

“In our opinion, reputable international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent Society, should be involved not only in the delivery but also in the distribution of humanitarian aid. We are insistently calling on our partners to avoid the repetition of mistakes committed while the basic efforts have to be focused on disbanding this camp and resettling its inhabitants,” Tsarikov said.

Over 1,400 Syrian communities liberated from Daesh terror grip

Elsewhere in his statement, Mizintsev said that more than 1,400 residential areas in Syria were freed from terrorists and extremists of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS, ISIS, Daesh) terror group during the period of Russia’s participation in the fighting, Tass reported.

One year ago on this day, the Russian armed forces successfully completed its operation of mopping up terror groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, including thousands of IS fighters. Only a few ragtag US-backed groups survived in the Trans-Euphrates region and near Al-Tanf. The remainders of the Jabhat al-Nusra terror group were blocked in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

In total, 1,411 areas were liberated during the operation with Syrian government troops and militia having retaken more than 96.5% of the country’s territory,” Mizintsev told a joint meeting of the interdepartmental coordination of the Russian and Syrian headquarters for the return of refugees.

He also noted that the completion of the operation has made it possible to significantly reduce the Russian Air Force group in Syria and start restoring peace there.

“In accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for a political settlement in Syria, a constitutional committee with the participation of the opposition and representatives of Syria’s entire multinational civil society is being shaped,” Mizintsev stressed.

H.M