Russia vows air support for Syrian troops in Aleppo

Russia has vowed to provide Syrian government troops with the "the most active" air support around Aleppo following the death of scores of people during fierce clashes with terrorists over the weekend.

During a press conference held in Moscow on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (seen below) added that the so-called moderate opposition groups had been given enough time to leave the city. Washington recently asked Moscow to stop conducting airstrikes against the al-Nusra Front terrorists in Syria over fears of hitting the US-backed groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

“We believe there was plenty of time for the ‘normal’ opposition to leave Nusra Front territories since February. Those who didn’t part ways with the terrorists have only themselves to blame,” Lavrov added.

Last week, the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front terrorist group launched an offensive against the northwestern city of Aleppo.

“What is happening in Aleppo and around it now, we warned the Americans about this in advance, and they know that we will be actively supporting the Syrian army from the air to prevent terrorists from seizing territory," he noted.

He added that Russia’s decision had been shared with the US during a video-conference. “There won't be any surprises for the Americans," Lavrov said.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that some two thousand militants had gathered around the city’s Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood, among them "various terrorist groups and teams of so-called 'moderate opposition'." 

Syrian opposition groups have on multiple occasions been accused of breaking a shaky cessation of hostilities in the country.

Brokered by Moscow and Washington, the nation-wide cessation of hostilities was introduced in February in a bid to facilitate dialogue between Syria’s rival parties. Daesh and al-Nusra Front terrorist groups were excluded from the truce.

Aleppo has been divided between government forces in the west and militants in the east since 2012, a year after the conflict broke out in Syria.

Lack of coordination

Meanwhile, during two separate offensives, Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air support, and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US, are closing in on the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group’s de facto capital Raqqah.

According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Russia-backed forces have reached the vicinity of Lake Assad which lays some 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Raqqah.

The Kurdish forces have also progressed to around 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of the city.

On Monday, the Pentagon announced that despite regular Russian and US communications aimed at stopping the collision of fighter jets, no coordination was being carried out for ground forces.

"In terms of direct coordination of activities on the ground, that is not happening," said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook. "We don't see (coordination) as an issue right now. And if it becomes one, it's certainly something we'll be prepared to address."    

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy it blames on some regional and western governments. According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people in total since March 2011.

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