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Russia denies striking charity’s hospital in Syria Turkey pushes case for ground operations as Kurds advance
(about 4 hours later)
BEIRUT — Russia on Tuesday denied its warplanes carried out strikes on a Syrian hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders that killed at least nine people, as Syrian government forces and a Kurdish-led coalition advanced amid heavy fighting in the country’s north. BEIRUT — Turkey said Tuesday it is pressing for ground operations in Syria, hoping for the involvement of the U.S. and other allies as a force dominated by Kurdish fighters pushed through rebel lines and captured more territory near the Turkish border.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had said Russian warplanes targeted the hospital in Idlib province on Monday. The makeshift clinic was supported by the international aid group, also known by its French acronym MSF. France said that such attacks “could constitute war crimes.” In Damascus, the U.N. envoy to Syria suggested that humanitarian aid would be allowed into several besieged areas Wednesday, calling it the “duty of the government of Syria.”
But the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the allegations, saying there was no proof. “Tomorrow we test this,” Staffan de Mistura said after meeting with Syria’s foreign minister. The U.N. later announced the government of President Bashar Assad has approved access to seven such areas across the country and that convoys would head out in the coming days.
“We categorically reject such claims, even more so because each time those who make such claims prove unable somehow to corroborate their unsubstantiated accusations,” Dmitry Peskov said. De Mistura has been trying to secure aid deliveries to improve the chances of restarting peace talks before the end of February. But those efforts have been clouded by the intense fighting north of Aleppo, where various forces backed by regional and international rivals are clashing over a crucial strip of land linking Syria’s largest city to the border with Turkey.
In a conference call with journalists, he said those making allegations should do as Moscow does and rely on the “primary source” — official announcements from the Syrian government. Syrian government troops and allied militias, backed by heavy Russian bombardment, are closing in on the area, hoping to seal off parts of Aleppo held by rebels since 2012 in what would be a major blow to the opposition. Syria’s state news agency SANA and opposition activists said government forces have seized two more villages.
When pressed, he said Damascus had made announcements about who could have been behind the bombing. He said Syria’s ambassador to Russia said the hospital was destroyed by the U.S. military. A U.S.-led coalition is carrying out strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria. U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, which had mainly battled the Islamic State group and remained largely neutral in the civil war, are advancing in the same region, fighting rebels and other insurgents opposed to Assad in a bid to expand a nearby enclave.
MSF said the hospital in the town of Maaret al-Numan was hit four times in attacks that were minutes apart. The attack left the local population of around 40,000 without access to medical services, said MSF mission chief Massimiliano Rebaudengo. A Turkish official told reporters in Istanbul that his country is pushing for ground operations in Syria, hoping for the involvement of the U.S. and other allies against IS.
In the neighboring Aleppo province, a missile struck a children’s hospital in the town of Azaz, killing five people, including three children and a pregnant woman, according to the Observatory. A third air raid hit a school in a nearby village, killing seven and wounding others. “Without ground operations, it is impossible to stop the fighting in Syria,” the official said, adding that Turkey has pressed the issue in recent discussions with the U.S. and other Western nations.
Abdulrahman Al-Hassan, chief liaison officer at the Syrian Civil Defense, a group of first responders known as the “White Helmets,” said parts of a missile that landed near the hospital had Russian letters on them and that the type of missile had not been seen in the area prior to Russia’s military intervention, which began Set. 30. But he ruled out the possibility of Turkey undertaking unilateral action or the prospect of a joint Saudi-Turkish venture without broader consensus in the U.S.-led coalition against IS. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
The airstrikes came just days after Russia and other world powers agreed to bring about a pause in fighting that would allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the revival of Syrian peace talks. The projected truce agreed on Friday in Munich was to begin in a week, but is still very much in doubt, largely because of the heavy fighting in Aleppo. In Lebanon, the leader of Hezbollah said Turkey and Saudi Arabia are using the fight against IS as a “pretext” to launch a ground operation in Syria.
In recent weeks Syrian government troops backed by Russian airstrikes have been advancing on Western-backed rebels and other insurgents, hoping to seal off rebel-held parts of Aleppo, formerly Syria’s largest city. Syria’s state news agency SANA and the Observatory said Tuesday that government forces took the villages of Ahras and Misqan. Both countries are ready to start a regional and international war because of defeats suffered by rebels they support, said Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, addressing supporters in Beirut via satellite link from his hideout elsewhere in the city. Hezbollah’s fighters are in Syria, supporting Assad’s forces.
U.S.-allied Kurdish forces, which until now have mainly battled the Islamic State group and remained largely neutral in the civil war, have been advancing in the same region, battling Syrian rebels and other insurgents in a bid to expand a nearby enclave. The main Kurdish militia, known as the YPG, dominates the group known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, which also includes Arab fighters. The latest advances by the SDF have alarmed Ankara, which views Syria’s Kurds with suspicion. Turkey is also a leading backer of militants trying to overthrow Assad.
The Syria Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab groups, have captured the major town of Tel Rifaat, one of the largest militant strongholds in the province, as well as the village of Kfar Naseh to the south. Parts of the coalition oppose President Bashar Assad but have also fought against other rebels and the Western-backed opposition. SDF official Ahmad Hiso said Turkish troops shelled northern Syria. Since the shelling began three days ago, six civilians have been killed, including a woman and a child, he added.
Ahmad al-Omar, a member of the SDF, and the Observatory said SDF fighters also captured the village of Sheikh Issa and were approaching the rebel stronghold of Marea. The Kurdish forces have continued to advance, however, and the SDF captured the village of Sheikh Issa, cutting lines between the rebel stronghold of Marea and other parts of Aleppo province.
They said dignitaries from northern Aleppo are trying to negotiate an agreement whereby the insurgents would surrender Marea in exchange for a safe corridor to the town of Azaz, near the border with Turkey. The SDF have also captured the major town of Tel Rifaat, formerly one of the largest militant strongholds in the province, as well as the village of Kfar Naseh to the south.
The SDF is also advancing in Aleppo itself, according to opposition activists, who say Syrian insurgents repelled an SDF assault on two neighborhoods. SDF official Ahmad al-Omar said dignitaries from northern Syria are mediating a deal to open a corridor for militants to leave Marea for the northern town of Azaz near the border. The move would lead to SDF forces entering Marea without fighting in what would save the town from wide destruction by Russian warplanes.
“They were trying to besiege (rebel-held parts) of the city of Aleppo but were forced out,” activist Bahaa al-Halaby said via Skype. The Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, corroborated his account. Once in Marea, SDF forces would face off against IS. The SDF has been one of the most effective forces in fighting the extremists and has liberated large parts of northern Syria.
Another SDF official, Ahmad Hiso, said Turkish troops shelled northern Syria on Tuesday, adding that since the shelling began three days ago, six civilians have been killed, including a woman and a child. Turkey, a NATO member and part of the U.S.-directed coalition conducting airstrikes against IS, views the Kurdish fighters as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara and is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and other Western nations.
Turkey views the Syrian Kurdish fighters as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara. A Turkish official told reporters in Istanbul that “each time there is fire from Syria, we respond.” Russia, meanwhile, denied accusations it carried out airstrikes on a Syrian hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders that killed at least 11 people Monday.
He added that Turkey has no plans to unilaterally send ground troops into Syria, but that Ankara has raised the issue in international meetings, including with the United States. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other opposition activist groups had said Russian warplanes targeted the hospital in Idlib province.
Also Tuesday, government forces and allied gunmen captured a power station in eastern Aleppo from the IS group, which had used it as a jail. The Observatory said the pro-government forces captured the station and nearby villages with the help of Syrian and Russian airstrikes. “We categorically reject such claims, even more so because each time those who make such claims prove unable somehow to corroborate their unsubstantiated accusations,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin.
In Damascus, U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura met Tuesday with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. In a conference call with journalists, he said those making the allegations should rely on the “primary source” — official announcements from the Syrian government.
“We discussed the priority issue for us at the moment, which is the issue of humanitarian access to besieged areas,” de Mistura said. When pressed, he said Damascus had made announcements about who could have been behind the bombing. He said Syria’s ambassador to Russia said the hospital was destroyed by the U.S. military.
“It is clear, it is the duty of the government of Syria to want to reach every Syrian person wherever they are and allow the U.N. to bring humanitarian aid,” de Mistura said. The U.S., Russia and other world powers agreed Feb. 12 in Munich to bring about a pause in hostilities that would allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the revival of peace talks. The projected truce was to begin at the end of this week but is still very much in doubt.
“Tomorrow we test this, and we will be able to talk more about it,” he told reporters, without elaborating.
The U.N. envoy arrived in the Syrian capital Monday for discussions on aid deliveries and resuming peace talks in Geneva.
SANA quoted al-Moallem as saying that they talked about the efforts exerted by Syria to deliver humanitarian aid to its citizens, “particularly to the areas controlled by terrorist groups.”
The Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV, a pro-Syrian government outlet, reported that the government has agreed to allow aid into the rebel-held towns of Zabadani and Moadamiyeh.
Indirect peace talks between representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition collapsed earlier this month in Geneva after just two days, largely because of the government offensive in Aleppo.
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Berry reported from Moscow. Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report. Associated Press writer Lynn Berry in Moscow, Albert Aji in Damascus, Dominique Soguel in Istanbul and Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.