The US envoy to the United Nations spent some 30 seconds expressing “regret” over the unfortunate coalition airstrike that resulted in the loss of the lives of Syrian soldiers, and insisting that even if the ongoing investigation proves the US military is indeed to blame, it had never been their “intention” to strike Syrian military.
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Zakharova was quoted by the state news agency Tass as saying that “after today’s attack on the Syrian army, we come to the awful conclusion that the White House is defending the Islamic State”.
In New York, the UN Security Council cancelled an urgent meeting that had been called to discuss whether to endorse the ceasefire, billed as the “last chance” to end the five-year war that has killed 3,00,000 people.
However, instead of discussing the issue, U.S. ambassador Samantha Power immediately left the room to address the press and accuse Russian Federation of hypocrisy. He said that Power’s deputy, who was in the room, could only respond that the matter was under investigation.
Churkin said Russian Federation had no “specific evidence” of the United States colluding with Islamic State militants. Therefore, he said, there was no point in his listening to Power and he made a decision to leave the room to share his reflections with the media.
Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov says the airstrike on Saturday took place near the Deir el-Zour airport in eastern Syria and was carried out by two F-16s and two A-10s.
An injured Syrian child cries as she awaits treatment.
Power described Russia’s request for the meeting as a “stunt, replete with moralism and grandstanding”, saying Moscow should instead demand a meeting with the Syrian regime to press for peace.
The U.S. -led coalition has been conducting air strikes against Islamic State since September 2014 and is also supporting rebels against Assad elsewhere in Syria.
Meanwhile, an official for US President Barack Obama said the White House had relayed its “regret” for the “unintentional loss of life” to Russian Federation, and said they would continue to pursue compliance with the ceasefire.
“Syria is a complex situation with various military forces and militias in close proximity, but coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit”, USA officials said.
SANA quotes an unnamed military official as saying Sunday that dozens of IS fighters were killed in the offensive under the cover of Syrian airstrikes. The coalition thought it was going after an ISIS tank position.
Russian Federation has called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council over a US air raid that it says struck Syrian troops battling the Islamic State group.
Another US official said the Pentagon trusts the Russian military unit that placed the call informing them of the incorrect target and had little doubt something went wrong.
Australian aircraft were among the warplanes that struck what were believed to be Islamic State fighting positions around Deir al-Zor in Eastern Syria.
“This is a unsafe and bold attack against the Syrian state and army, and clear evidence that the United States and its allies support the terrorist group Daesh”, the army statement reported by the SANA official news agency said, referring to IS.
Russia blamed the United States for failing to coordinate with them on the airstrikes, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman told Sputnik.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said that if the coalition bombing was a mistake, it was evidence of Washington’s “stubborn refusal” to coordinate its actions with Russia’s government.
U.S. Central Command said the strike was immediately halted “when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military”.
The cease-fire took effect on Monday, and despite reports of violations, it has largely held.
The United States and Russian Federation agreed a deal on Syria last week, involving a ceasefire which came into effect on Monday, aid deliveries to besieged areas and eventual joint targeting of militant jihadist groups if the truce works out.
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Russia’s military says Syrian rebels have violated a cease-fire 55 times over the past day, including with strikes on military and civilian targets in the divided northern city of Aleppo.
