Syria truce troubled after US kills 62 regime troops
Syrian army soldiers inspecting the damage at the site of a suspected car bombing in a government-held area in the city of Homs on September 5, 2016. On Sunday, IS said it shot down a Syrian warplane near Deir Ezzor. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- The ceasefire’s co-sponsors, Russia and the United States, have traded accusations over the fraying deal.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 90 soldiers were killed in the strike. Damascus ally Moscow put the death toll at 62.
BEIRUT
Syria’s ceasefire was hanging by a thread Sunday after tensions escalated between Moscow and Washington over a US-led coalition air strike that killed dozens of Syrian soldiers battling jihadists.
The truce saw violence drop across Syria for several days after it came into force Monday, but fighting has since erupted on several fronts and besieged civilians are still waiting desperately for promised aid deliveries.
The ceasefire’s co-sponsors, Russia and the United States, have traded accusations over the fraying deal, with relations strained even further after the US-led raid killed scores of Syrian soldiers on Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 90 soldiers were killed in the strike. Damascus ally Moscow put the death toll at 62.
The Syrian army said the raid had allowed Islamic State group fighters to gain ground around the key eastern airbase of Deir Ezzor, but a military source said government forces were back on the offensive Sunday.
“The army has retaken most of its positions on Jabal Therdeh with Russian and Syrian air support,” the source said, referring to a hilltop overlooking the base.
Retaking them is vital to prevent IS using them to fire on army aircraft taking off from or landing there.
On Sunday, IS said it shot down a Syrian warplane near Deir Ezzor.
Syrian state news agency SANA confirmed a plane had been shot down there and its pilot killed, but did not say who was responsible.
The base and adjacent government-held neighbourhoods of Deir Ezzor city have been under siege since 2012, and have been dependent on resupply by air.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Russian warplanes pounded IS positions around Deir Ezzor late Saturday as fierce clashes broke out between IS and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
At least 38 jihadist fighters were killed and clashes were ongoing, Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Hours after the coalition strike on Saturday, the Pentagon admitted US-led pilots may have hit Assad’s forces but said that they “believed they were striking a Daesh (IS) fighting position”.
The statement said coalition forces “would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit”.
