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Russian Airstrikes in Syria Hit Targets in ISIS-Controlled Area Russia Hits ISIS Territory in Syria With Airstrikes but Ignores Western Demands
(about 2 hours later)
MOSCOW — The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that it had bombed seven targets in Syria in overnight air raids, including a command post and a training camp near the northwestern city of Raqqa that would be the first strike in an area widely recognized as being under the control of the Islamic State. MOSCOW — Russia widened its bombings in Syria on Friday, striking Islamic State territory for the first time, but showed no hint of heeding Western demands to avoid attacks on fighters pushing to oust Syria’s weakened, Kremlin-backed president.
The United States and other nations that back groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad have accused the Russian forces of targeting almost every opposition group but the Islamic State in the airstrikes that began on Wednesday. The Defense Ministry said its warplanes had bombed seven targets in overnight raids including a command post and training camp near Raqqa, the northeast Syrian city that the Islamic State has converted into the capital of its self-proclaimed caliphate straddling Syria and Iraq.
The Russian aerial assaults, which began on Wednesday, have surprised and angered the United States and its Western and Arab allies, who have been bombing Islamic State targets for more than a year.
These allies see Russia’s move as a reckless attempt to bolster the president, Bashar-al Assad. His control of the country is increasingly tenuous in a war now in its fifth year, with half the country’s population displaced and millions fleeing for Europe.
The assaults have threatened to turn the war into a far more complicated and deeper conflict, throwing into doubt diplomatic efforts to find a political solution and posing new quandaries for the Obama administration, which has insisted that Mr. Assad leave office.
“President Obama faces another nightmare now,” said Salman Shaikh, a Middle East analyst who heads The Shaikh Group, a Paris-based consultancy. If there is any weakening of the anti-Assad solidarity in the coalition of Western and Arab powers, he said, “You are going to see a fracturing among the coalition.”
Senior Western diplomats at the United Nations have expressed alarm that the Russian strikes, which have targeted rebel groups they support, will only embolden Mr. Assad. At the least, the strikes make it unlikely that his status will be decided ahead of any potential peace talks.
“We’re really concerned about the efficiency of any process that would start without sending a clear signal to all parties on the ground that at the end of the process, we will see a transition away from Bashar,” one Western diplomat said Friday. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because the issue is delicate.
For the Arab allies in the Persian Gulf in particular, the diplomat said, it would be impossible to enter into any political talks without resolving that Mr. Assad will not be able serve as president again, after a transitional government.
Sunni Arabs who loathe Mr. Assad and his alliance with Shiite Iran will revolt even more, with the potential for even greater “mayhem,” as the diplomat put it.
“It’s very important we don’t leave this question mark open,” he said.
Turkey issued a joint statement on Friday with Britain, France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States, calling on Russia to stop targeting the opposition groups they have been supporting and warning that such attacks would feed radicalism and extremism.Turkey issued a joint statement on Friday with Britain, France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States, calling on Russia to stop targeting the opposition groups they have been supporting and warning that such attacks would feed radicalism and extremism.
Their view was summarily rejected later at the United Nations by the foreign minister of Syria, Walid al-Moallem. Delivering his nation’s speech at the annual General Assembly, Mr. Moallem thanked the Russians for coming to the aid of the Syrian military with airstrikes and asserted they were part of its effort to combat terrorism. Their view has been disputed by Russia, and was summarily rejected later Friday at the United Nations by the foreign minister of Syria, Walid al-Moallem.
Mr. Moallem castigated the alliance of Western and Arab states for what he called their failure to stop the flow of foreign jihadists into Syria. He blamed the alliance for creating the crisis now engulfing the country. Delivering his nation’s speech at the annual session of the General Assembly, Mr. Moallem thanked the Russians for coming to the aid of the Syrian military with airstrikes and asserted that they were part of its effort to combat terrorism.
Signaling his own confidence about Mr. Assad’s position, Mr. Moallem also ridiculed the Western-led efforts to advocate political changes in Syria while the country was under what he described as a total terrorist assault.
“Syria cannot implement any democratic political measures related to elections, a constitution or the like, while terrorism is striking at home and threatens innocent civilians in the country,” he said.
Mr. Moallem castigated the alliance of Western and Arab states for what he called their failure to stop the flow of foreign jihadists into Syria. He blamed the alliance for creating the crisis, a position the Assad government has taken since the outset.
“Our vision proved to be correct,” Mr. Moallem said.“Our vision proved to be correct,” Mr. Moallem said.
The Russian foray into Syria also preoccupied a Ukraine summit meeting in Paris on Friday, at least initially. The leaders of Russia and France talked for an hour about Syria, a French official said, before the broader meeting, which included the leaders of Germany and Ukraine, meant to shore up the agreement signed in Minsk, Belarus, this year that was intended to pacify southeast Ukraine. The Syrian foreign minister’s presence at the United Nations this week has created some awkward moments for Secretary of State John Kerry, who has also been attending the General Assembly session but will not engage directly with him. When Mr. Kerry walked into a meeting room Wednesday evening and saw Mr. Moallem speaking with Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, Mr. Kerry exited swiftly, two diplomats said.
In Moscow on Friday, the Defense Ministry said that its warplanes had flown 10 sorties overnight, hitting seven targets including a training camp and a command post run by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, near Raqqa.In Moscow on Friday, the Defense Ministry said that its warplanes had flown 10 sorties overnight, hitting seven targets including a training camp and a command post run by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, near Raqqa.
Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the ministry, said that the training camp was near the town of Maaden Jedid and that the command post was near Kasert-Faraj, both southwest of Raqqa.Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the ministry, said that the training camp was near the town of Maaden Jedid and that the command post was near Kasert-Faraj, both southwest of Raqqa.
Raqqa has emerged as the capital of the patchwork of territory that the Islamic State controls across northern Syria.
In Raqqa, the authorities announced that they were canceling Friday Prayer in the mosques as a safety measure, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a organization based in Britain that tracks local activity across the country.In Raqqa, the authorities announced that they were canceling Friday Prayer in the mosques as a safety measure, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a organization based in Britain that tracks local activity across the country.
The Russians also reportedly hit Qaratayn, south of Homs, according to Mayadeen TV, a Lebanese channel close to the Damascus government. Islamic State forces captured the town recently, pushing out from the desert city of Palmyra toward Damascus, and they are still holding some Assyrian Christian hostages from there. The Russians also reportedly hit Qaryatayn, south of Homs, according to Mayadeen TV, a Lebanese channel close to the Damascus government. Islamic State forces captured the town recently, pushing out from the desert city of Palmyra toward Damascus, and they are still holding some Assyrian Christian hostages from there.
The other four areas that Syrian state television reported had been hit by Russian forces were in different parts of the country known to be controlled by rebel groups other than the Islamic State.The other four areas that Syrian state television reported had been hit by Russian forces were in different parts of the country known to be controlled by rebel groups other than the Islamic State.
Russia has rejected accusations that, in trying to shore up Mr. Assad, it has hit all opposition groups indiscriminately rather than concentrating on Islamic State militants. Its military operations have confounded the loose coalition of nations that have been backing the opposition since the civil war erupted in 2011. The Russian foray into Syria also preoccupied a summit meeting in Paris on Friday meant to deal with another crisis pitting Russia against the West: the insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
The statement from the seven countries expressed “deep concern” about the Russian military buildup in Syria, and in particular Russian Air Force attacks around Hama, Homs and Idlib. The attacks avoided Islamic State targets and caused civilian casualties, the statement said. The leaders of Russia and France talked for an hour about Syria, a French official said, before the broader meeting, which included the leaders of Germany and Ukraine.
“These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalization,” the statement said. “We call on the Russian federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL.”
Russia, like Syria, which has been deeply involved in picking the Russian Air Force’s targets, does not distinguish among the various opposition groups, labeling them all Islamic State or “terrorists.”
As part of its campaign in Syria, the Russian Navy has deployed the missile cruiser Moscow to defend Russian Air Force planes stationed near Latakia, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday, quoting an unidentified military source.As part of its campaign in Syria, the Russian Navy has deployed the missile cruiser Moscow to defend Russian Air Force planes stationed near Latakia, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday, quoting an unidentified military source.
The missile cruiser, part of a fleet that operates permanently in the eastern Mediterranean, has fired a few shots at aerial targets, the agency reported, without providing any additional details. The missile cruiser, part of a fleet that operates permanently in the eastern Mediterranean, has fired a few shots at aerial targets, the agency reported, without providing additional details.
Russian support for the Assad government is based at least in part on a desire to maintain access to its longstanding naval station at Tartus, its only overseas military post outside the former Soviet Union.Russian support for the Assad government is based at least in part on a desire to maintain access to its longstanding naval station at Tartus, its only overseas military post outside the former Soviet Union.