May 17, 2016
Retired U.S. Marine Matt Smith-Meck talks Operation Fast &
Furious and the international arms transfer proceeding in the near future.
Result:
Al-Nusra
Front in Syria gets daily weapons supplies from Turkey - Russian military
Published time: 27 May, 2016 10:54
Edited time: 27 May, 2016 12:40
Terrorist group Al-Nusra Front is receiving daily arms
shipments across the border from Turkey, the Russian General Staff says.
The Al-Qaeda offshoot used the truce between government forces
and moderate rebels in Syria to regroup and renew hostilities.
Al-Nusra Front remains a major destabilizing factor in Syria, Lt.
Gen. Sergey Rudskoy told journalists on Friday.
“Damascus is being continuously shelled from Eastern Ghouta.
There were numerous attempts to capture power station near Homs and block the
road connecting Aleppo and Damascus. The flow of trucks carrying weapons and
ammunition from Turkey continues, with border crossings reported on daily
basis,” he said.
Read more
Russian Sukhoi Su-24 planes at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria.
© Maksim BlinovRussia postpones airstrikes against terrorist-held areas in Syria
The general added that Al-Nusra Front attacks are confirmed by
other nations as well, and that they agree with Russia’s assessment of the
negative impact of the militant group.
“It’s obvious that the terrorist group, which operates in
Aleppo and Idlib provinces, is currently the biggest stumbling block for the
process of expanding the truce to new territories in northern Syria,” Rudskoy
said.
Al-Nusra Front benefited from the truce because some of the
territories under its control are mixed with those, which were designated as
held by so-called moderate rebel forces and which are excluded from Russian
airstrike missions, he stressed.
In some areas Al-Nusra Front managed to take initiative,
Rudskoy said. Three villages were captured by the terrorists from the
government in the last few days while heavy fighting continues in the northern
part of Aleppo city.
The Russian General Staff said that pressure exerted by Russia
on armed groups in Syria continues to bear fruit. Over the last few days 17
armed groups, many of which were influenced by or pledged allegiance to
Al-Nusra Front, agreed to join the truce. The general says that looming
bombings of the terrorist forces, which Russia suggested to carry out together
with the Americans, gave an incentive to the switch of sides.
Read more
Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front fighters. © ReutersAl-Nusra
assembles 6,000-strong attack force in Aleppo – Russian MoD
Russia is assisting Syrian forces in their fight against
terrorist groups and attempts to reconcile with rebels, who are willing to seek
a peace transition. The effort is undermined by the fact that terrorist groups
like Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and Al-Nusra Front are not part of the
US and Russia-negotiated ceasefire and continue hostilities. Al-Nusra Front in
particular regularly attacks both rebels and government forces in an apparent
attempt to derail the truce.
Moscow wants to intensify airstrikes on Al-Nusra Front
positions, but is putting them on hold due to the murky borders between the
extremist group and militants, who are supposedly supporting the truce. Russia
has asked the US to put pressure on the rebels, so that a clear distinction
could be established between their territories and those of the terrorists.
“Our American partners are stalling the process of
differentiation between the opposition groups under their control and the
terrorist, which not only discredits the entire so-called moderate opposition,
but also derails the peace process and leads to a renewal of hostilities in
Syria,” Rudskoy warned.
Another problem comes from fringe Islamist groups like Ahrar
Al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam. Russia says neither is truly committed to the peace
process and both have committed numerous atrocities. Moscow wants them
acknowledged as terrorists and legitimate targets for airstrikes. The US
opposes this, saying that both groups have the backing of Saudi Arabia and are
represented at the UN-sponsored peace talks.
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