Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has rejected accusations that Moscow’s air strikes in Syria are aimed at targets other than the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and have hit civilians. “The rumours that the target of these air strikes are not ISIL positions are unfounded,” he told journalists after meeting US counterpart John Kerry in New York on Thursday, adding that he has “no data” on civilian casualties. Aljazeera reports:
Saudi Arabia demanded that Russia end its military operations against targets in Syria, a Saudi diplomat said in remarks broadcast by Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television. Speaking at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said that the ISIL group was not present in the areas that were attacked by Russian jets.
“The delegation of my country expresses its profound concern regarding the military operations which Russian forces have carried out in Homs and Hama today, places where ISIS (ISIL) forces are not present. These attacks led to a number of innocent victims. We demand it stop immediately and not recur,” Mouallimi said.
“As for those countries that have claimed recently to join in the fight against ISIS (ISIL) terrorism, they can’t do that at the same time as they support the terrorism of the Syrian regime … “
