https://sputniknews.com/world/201710231058462319-lavrov-syria-us-strategy/
Moscow Has Questions Concerning New US Policy in Syria - Lavrov
The Russian foreign minister has also mentioned the mass exodus of Daesh terrorists from Raqqa during the operation in the city.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia expects Washington to answer questions on the US new strategy in Syria in a frank and comprehensible way, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
"When we hear about the new line of the United States, the line, which calls for creation of some local councils on the territory of sovereign Syrian Arab Republic, it most certainly raises questions on our part. We address these questions to Washington and expect to receive an honest and comprehensible answer," Lavrov said after a meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari on Monday.
The Russian top diplomat has described the US-led coalition's actions in Syria as "some odd things," pointing out multiple cases when terrorists deployed in areas controlled by "opposition backed by the US" were transferred to maintain resistance to the Syrian government forces' offensive on Daesh terrorists' positions were recorded.
"In particular, there were cases of a mass exodus of ISIS [Daesh, banned in Russia] terrorists from Raqqa exactly when the US-led coalition was besieging the city. There were other incidents linked with our American colleagues trying to draw some lines beyond which the Syrian army should not go."
Lavrov's statement comes just a day after the Russian Defense Ministry
compared the US-led coalition's operation in Raqqa, which had been under Daesh control since 2014, to the bombing of Dresden during WWII. The ministry's spokesman accused the coalition of trying to cover up the tracks of "barbaric" airstrikes that have allegedly "buried" thousands of Raqqa civilians during the campaign to liberate the former de-facto Daesh "capital" from Daesh.
https://sputniknews.com/us/201708221056699527-pentagon-assess-raqqa-strike/
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition against the Islamic State terror group (Daesh) will assess reports of civilian casualties in strikes near Raqqa, Syria, US Department of Defense spokesperson Adrian Rankine-Galloway told Sputnik on Tuesday. Syrian media reported earlier in the day that coalition airstrikes killed 78 civilians in Islamic State-controlled Raqqa during the past 24 hours.
"First, CJTF-OIR [Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve] conducts a credibility assessment of the reported incident. If a report is found to be credible, they will carry out a formal investigation if one is necessary to understand what happened," Rankine-Galloway said when asked about the incident.
Not really getting the same coverage in North America that Vegas is getting, I wonder why??
US Now Admits Syrian "Rebels" Have Used Chemical Weapons
Source: Zero Hedge
From the first moment chemical weapons were used on the Syrian battlefield, the American public was led to believe that only one side could possibly be responsible. The constant refrain in the echo chamber of US government officials and the mainstream media was that only the Assad government possessed chemical stockpiles and the technological capability of deploying such heinous weapons, therefore blame for each and every chemical attack from Ghouta to Khan Sheikhoun was laid at the feet of Assad and the Syrian military.
And yet last Wednesday, for the first time, the US State Department casually dropped an important admission into its official
Syria travel warning for American citizens: that the core rebel group currently operating in northwest Syria
not only possesses but has used chemical weapons - to the point that the State Department considers it a major enough threat to publicly warn citizens about.
The armed opposition group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is referenced early in the document: "Terrorist and other violent extremist groups including ISIS and Al-Qaeda linked Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham [dominated by Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Al-Nusra, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization], operate in Syria.” HTS is the group now holding Idlib province, which it captured in 2015 as part of a coalition of armed groups given direct support from a
US-led operations room in southern Turkey - this according to prominent pro-opposition analyst Charles Lister.
https://southfront.org/syria-war-re...astern-bank-of-euphrates-to-us-backed-forces/
On October 22, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that they took control over the Omar oil fields in eastern Deir Ezzor, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. Lilwa al-Abdallah, one of the SDF spokespersons, said in a statement that the SDF “managed to liberate the fields without notable damages”.
Pro-SDF sources also claimed that the SDF established control over a large area north of the fields, including Tayyib al-Fal, al-Qusayriyah, al-Khurayzah, Shuhayl and other points.
On October 23, spokesman for the US-led coalition Army Colonel Ryan Dillon said in Twitter that the SDF caught ISIS off guard and the terrorist group had no time to destroy the infrastructure.
Meanwhile, according to Syrian sources, the SDF reached a deal with local ISIS members operating in the oil fields area and the only goal of media campaign showing the rapid SDF success was to hide this cooperation. A lack of videos and photos from the ground and no damage do the oil infrastructure contribute to this version.
On October 22, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the SDF and ISIS are working on an unprecedented deal that would allow the US-backed force to establish control over the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The negotiations, which are allegedly sponsoredby local tribes linked to ISIS, would extend the surrendered area between the villages of Khsham and Hajin.
The SOHR has a strong anti-government attitude. So, it’s hard to expect that it spreads this reports in order to support the so-called Assad propaganda campaign against the SDF.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies, backed up by the Russian Aerospace Forces, advanced southeast from al-Mayadin and liberated the villages of Mahkan and Quriyah and advanced on al-Asharah. The advance took place amid intense firefights with ISIS units operating in the area.
An intense fighting between the SAA and ISIS was also reported in Saqr Island near Deir Ezzor. Pro-government sources speculate that the SAA Tiger Forces will be actively involved in the operation in the area.
However, it’s unlikely that the Syrian military will be able to develop the large-scale operation inside Deir Ezzor city and to push further towards al-Bukamal simultaneously.
https://www.activistpost.com/2017/10/visting-syria-western-media-narrative-bullshit.html
By
Brandon Turbeville
In early October, 2017, I had the pleasure of visiting Syria on a mission to get a sense of the toll of the war, the mindset of the people, and the general situation on the ground. The goal was to see the country in person, get a sense of what life is like in Syria today, talk to the Syrian people and hear their side of things; i.e. their opinions on the government and the “rebels/terrorists,” their living conditions, Syria before the war versus Syria now, and whatever else they wanted to share. We wanted to see the areas formerly under control of the terrorists and talk to the residents there. We also wanted to visit the areas firmly under government control and speak to the residents living in these areas as well.
Having covered the Syrian crisis for the entire six years of its duration, I had a pretty good sense of the opinions of the Syrian people and the situation they are facing as a result of numerous contacts inside Syria. However, there is no substitute for examining a situation first hand and talking with Syrians themselves with whom one has no prior personal connection as well as random strangers on the street in order to get an unfiltered response to the many questions we wanted to ask.
After having the chance to visit many of the places I had written about during the course of the crisis, everything I have written has now been confirmed first hand. I am now more convinced than ever that the “information” being spread across mainstream media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and the rest are, quite simply, complete and total bullshit. There is no wonder Americans are so tragically ignorant of what is happening in Syria and the rest of the world when the constant barrage of media propaganda they are subjected to does nothing but promote claims and statements that are in direct contradiction to the facts.
The itinerary of the trip involved seeing a number of cities – Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Tartus – and many smaller towns and villages in between.
Upon arriving in Damascus, the first thing that stands out is not the architecture or the traffic or even the fact that life has almost fully returned to the areas liberated by the Syrian military, but the people themselves. Many Americans, constantly tortured by media propaganda telling them that everyone in every foreign country hates them for freedom, religion, and short shorts, might be surprised to know that many of the people are intelligent enough to separate the American people from the American government even if Americans are not always intelligent enough to extend the same courtesy to them.
Regardless of the propaganda peddled to Western audiences, the Syrian people mark as some of the most welcoming, friendly, human beings in the world. From the first moment of entering the country, we were greeted by Syrian soldiers who, at virtually every checkpoint, welcomed us to Syria and then on to Damascus where the Syrian people expressed their famous hospitality. Everywhere we went for the entirety of the visit, we were greeted “Welcome to Syria” by soldiers, strangers, passersby on the street, business owners, and virtually everyone we came in contact with. The welcomes were clearly genuine. Everyone was obviously pleased and felt strangely honored that foreigners were visiting Syria and many expressed happiness that “tourists” were returning to Syria after six years of war. It was a sign that things are slowly returning to normal.
While Americans may remain under the impression that Syrians are obsessed with religion, wary and hateful towards foreigners (particularly Americans due to all our alleged “freedom”), I can say without qualification that this is not true and that never once did I experience any hostility from any Syrian during my entire visit. In fact, we were shown the complete opposite with myself and others being repeatedly invited to homes for dinner, tea, and coffee following a short conversation.
(in part)
PressTV-US has wiped Raqqah off the face of earth: Russia
Russia says the US has wiped the Syrian city of Raqqah "off the face of the earth" with carpet bombing in the same way the United States and Britain bombed Germany's Dresden in 1945.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry accused the West of having rushed to provide aid to Raqqah to cover up its own crimes.
"Raqqah has inherited the fate of Dresden in 1945, wiped off the face of the earth by Anglo-American bombardments," said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenko.
Recently, Daesh terrorists left Raqqah, their former “capital” in Syria, as part of a deal with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US-led coalition. Thus, the US-backed Kurdish-dominated SDF announced full control over the city.
The spin (at some point in the future)will be that is is Damascus from OT prophecy.
Isa:17:1:
The burden of Damascus.
Behold,
Damascus is taken away from being a city,
and it shall be a ruinous heap.