Hands Off Syria strongly condemns the massacre of 62 Syrian soldiers by Australian Defence Forces.

Australia’s military has admitted involvement in the US-led bombing raids in Deir eZorr, Syria, which killed at least 62 Syrian soldiers and wounded 100 others. The soldiers were engaged in defending their country from the ISIS terrorist group.

Whether the massacre was ‘accidental’ or deliberate should be determined by an independent war crimes tribunal. Assertion by the perpetrators ‘sorry, we didn’t mean it’, is completely inadequate. Further, there are many circumstances which suggest the attack was deliberate.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop must explain two things:

– on what legal basis have any Australian armed forces engaged in bombings on Syrian territory, without an invitation from or coordination with the Syrian Government?

– will the Australian Government hand over to the Syrian authorities or the International Court of Justice those Australians who were accomplices in this atrocity?

– to what extent does the USA share intelligence with Australian Defence Forces, when it asks Australian personnel to become involved in assassinations and bombings?

The Deir eZorr massacre of 17 September 2016 is material for an independent war crimes trial, and these are some of the initial questions Australian officials would have to answer.

The anonymous Defence statement (see below) is insulting in its trivialisation of the first major war crime co-authored by Australian forces in Syria.

Hands Off Syria
18 September 2016

The Australian Defence Department is reported as saying:
“Australian aircraft were among a number of international aircraft taking part in this Coalition operation … Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (IS). Defence offers its condolences to the families of any Syrian personnel killed or wounded in this incident … While Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (also known as ISIL).”

Source: Fort Russ
Updated at 10:05 pm UTC – The US used phosphorous bombs on human targets – a war crime. Putin and Lavrov have called an Emergency Session of the UN Security Council

Updated at 7:51 pm UTC

BREAKING – The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said that US alliance aircrafts targeted a Syrian Arab Army position in al-Tharda Mountain in the surroundings of Deir Ezzor Airport, at 5 PM on Saturday, causing losses in lives and equipment and clearly paved the way for ISIS terrorists to attack the position and take control of it.

“US alliance aircrafts targeted at 5 PM on Saturday a Syrian Arab Army position in al-Tharda Mountain in the surroundings of Deir Ezzor Airport, causing losses in lives and equipment,” the official SANA news agency quoted the General Command as saying.

“This act is a serious and blatant aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic and its army, and constitutes conclusive evidence that the United States and its allies support ISIS and other terrorist organizations,” SANA quoted a Syrian military statement as saying.

“This act reveals the falseness of their claims of fighting terrorism,” it added.

The US-led coalition has yet to comment on the attack.

Confirmed reports were that as many as 65 soldiers were killed in the bombing attack, with over 100 wounded.

This number has just been updated at 7:51 pm UTC to have climbed to nearly 100 killed.

Russia’s official RT news website said the planes were US coalition aircraft that had crossed over from Iraq.

“Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and over 100 injured in the airstrike by the US-led coalition,” it quoted Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov as saying, citing information from the Syrian General Command.

“The aircraft which carried out the bombings had entered Syrian airspace from the territory of Iraq. The airstrike against Syrian positions was performed by two F-16 jet fighters and two A-10 support aircraft,” RT quoted the defense ministry in Moscow as saying.

These and similar acts of aggression by the US and of the various terrorist groups operating under the false flag as ‘Syrian Opposition’, and therefore protected under the terms of the fragile 48-hour ceasefire, are sign that the ceasefire has essentially been ended. The ceasefire was agreed by Russia and the United States and came into force on Monday evening and was extended for another two days on Wednesday.

Syria intended to use the short ceasefire to focus away from Aleppo and turn their attention to cleaning up ISIS positions in other parts of the country. ISIS was not formally protected under the ceasefire. The US attack has essentially provided air cover for ISIS terrorists.

It has just been reported that the Syrian Arab Army has responded by bombing the Daesh (ISIS) positions set to capitalize on the US attack.

The airport serves an important strategic position, the Syrian Arab Army having previously been successful in taking it from ISIS.

Source: Sputnik
White House regrets “unintentional loss of life”
An Obama administration official offered an official statement of regret for the loss of life caused by a US-led airstrike against Syrian Army positions in violation of a ceasefire — an attack that led the Russian Foreign Ministry to wonder whether the White House is aiding Daesh.

The Obama administration offered a formal apology for the “unintentional loss of life” after an airstrike conducted against Syrian forces on Saturday killing at least 80 soldiers loyal to the Assad regime.

The airstrike came only five days into the breakthrough ceasefire agreement between the United States and Russia that called for the two parties to coordinate strikes and for the Obama administration to levy more pressure against the so-called moderate rebels to disband from al-Nusra Front terrorists.

The attack was immediately condemned by both the Russian and Syrian Foreign Ministry, but the diplomatic row intensified after the US Central Command released a statement saying that while the airstrike was unintentional, they had previously notified Russia of the intent to strike. Russia vehemently denies the claim that they were notified that a strike was pending against the Syrian Army base in Deir Ez-Zor.

In the statement, the White House also expressed a commitment to adhering to the ceasefire agreement despite the tragic airstrike.

Speaking before the United Nations Security Council during an emergency meeting on Saturday, the United States Ambassador to the international body Samantha Power reiterated America’s apology for the unintentional Syrian military deaths reiterating the word “regrets.”

Source: Press TV
Russia says 62 Syrian forces have been killed in airstrikes by US-led coalition jets on army positions near Dayr al-Zawr military airport.

“Warplanes from the international anti-terrorist coalition carried out four airstrikes today against Syrian forces surrounded by the Daesh group in the Dayr al-Zawr air base,” the Russia army said in a statement. “Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and a hundred others were injured in these strikes.”

Two F-16 and two A-10 jets entered Syrian air space from Iraq to carry out the attacks, according to the statement.

It added, “Straight after the coalition’s strikes, Daesh militants launched an offensive.” “If these strikes were due to an error in the target coordinates, that would be a direct consequence of the US’ refusal to coordinate with Russia its fight against the terrorist groups in Syria.”

The Syrian General Command referred to the incident as a “serious and blatant aggression” against the Syrian army, adding that it was also “conclusive evidence” that the US-led coalition is supporting Daesh militants.

Confirming the reports, the US military says it halted the attack after Russian officials said the targets were Syrian government forces and not Daesh Takfiri militants.

“Coalition forces believed they were striking a Daesh fighting position,” said the statement.

It added that the coalition would never intentionally attack Syrian forces, and that it will review the bombing and circumstances which led to it.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 80 soldiers were killed in the attacks.

Immediately after the US attack, Daesh launched a major offensive in the region and briefly took control of it before Syrian forces managed to retake it.

Emergency UNSC meeting

Following the attack, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it is calling for a Security Council emergency meeting. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the attack had also jeopardized a Russian-US agreement on Syria.

“We demand a full and detailed explanation from Washington. That explanation must be given at the UN Security Council,” said Zakharova during a televised broadcast.

“The Russian ambassador to the UN has been tasked with convening an urgent meeting of the Security Council over this issue,” she added.

On September 9, Moscow and Washington agreed on a milestone deal on the Syrian crisis after some 13 hours of marathon talks in the Swiss city of Geneva. The truce went into effect at sunset on September 12. The deal’s initial aims included allowing humanitarian access to the war-hit regions and joint Moscow-Washington attacks against militant groups that are not part of the truce agreement, namely  Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

“We are reaching a really terrifying conclusion for the whole world: That the White House is defending Daesh…Now there can be no doubts about that,” she stressed.

Before Russia’s announcement, Syria’s foreign ministry called on the UNSC to condemn the attacks and to make the US respect Syria’s sovereignty.

“The Syrian Republic demands that the UN Security Council condemn the American aggression and force the United States not to repeat it and to respect Syria’s sovereignty and the unity of its land and people,” said a statement.

US warplanes have been conducting airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq since August 2014. Some Western states have also participated in some of the strikes in Iraq.

Since September 2014, the US and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out airstrikes against Daesh inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

The US-led coalition has done little to stop Daesh’s advances in Syria and Iraq. Some analysts have criticized the US-led military campaign, saying the strikes are only meant to benefit US weapons manufacturers.

The US-led aerial campaign in Syria has also been criticized for lack of efficiency and high civilian casualties. In July, a US airstrike reportedly killed at least 70 civilians, mostly women and children near Manbij in northern Syria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHdknYHZAE4

Sputnik
Jaysh al-Islam, a group that is trying to overthrow Bashar al-Assad and establish a caliphate in Syria, has shelled a UN humanitarian convoy in the province of Damascus, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. Moscow urged the UN to designate the group as a terrorist organization, but the US blocked this initiative.

The incident took place in Harasta, a suburb of Damascus, the ministry detailed. The driver of the truck that was distributing humanitarian aid is said to have been badly wounded.

Jaysh al-Islam, a group that is trying to overthrow Bashar al-Assad and establish a caliphate in Syria, has shelled a UN humanitarian convoy in the province of Damascus, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. Moscow urged the UN to designate the group as a terrorist organization, but the US blocked this initiative.

The incident took place in Harasta, a suburb of Damascus, the ministry detailed. The driver of the truck that was distributing humanitarian aid is said to have been badly wounded.

Jaysh al-Islam has coordinated its activities with al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Syria that is not part to the nationwide ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia and the US earlier this year. For its part, the militants claim that they are part of the Syrian opposition. Its delegation has taken part in the Geneva peace talks.

Russia, Syria, Iran and Egypt have added the group to the list of terrorist organizations. Moscow has made every effort to convince the UN Security Council to designate Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham as terrorists, but the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine pulled the plug on this initiative.

“We have called for this and submitted a relevant proposal to the sanctions committee, so that they [the groups] would be added to the list of terrorist organizations, but so far, our Western partners are not ready for this,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said earlier in June.

Russian officials maintain that Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham share the same ideology as Daesh, a brutal group that carved a caliphate out of Iraq and Syria.

FarsNews
“The army men and the National Defense Forces (NDF), tipped off by the intelligence agents, surrounded the group of the ISIL terrorists carrying suicide-belts and arrested them,” the sources said, adding, “The suicide attackers were mostly between 16-20 age and even one of them was at the age of 13.”

“Three of the suicide bombers exploded their explosives but none of the army men was injured in the blasts,” the sources said.

Earlier reports said that the Syrian Army troops and NDF, who captured al-Rasafeh energy-rich region earlier today, hit ISIL’s positions around the region’s oil and power facilities and captured them after hours of heavy clashes.

The Syrian government forces won the battle against the ISIL in al-Rasafeh triangle and captured oil pumping station and power station in this region.

The Syrian soldiers and NDF moved towards al-Rasafeh crossroad from Ithriya-Raqqa road.

The Syrian army men have cut off the ISIL communication lines in this region and are now hunting the remaining pockets of the Takfiri militants near al-Rasafeh.