Syria at UN summit as Russian bombing causes tensions

The Russians had told their American counterparts that their efforts would be directed against ISIS, and that, apparently, was good enough.

In June, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 320,000 people have been killed and over 1.5 million others have been wounded in the civil war since March 2011, though those numbers keep rising on a daily basis. Russia’s foreign minister today strongly rejecting the charges that the air strikes are aimed at opposition forces.

He said their bodies were transported to a hospital in the province.

So far, the Russian airstrikes have been in western Syria.

Russia’s Orthodox Church, after years of repression under the Soviets, has regained much of its influence and built up close ties with the government despite a formal separation of Church and state.

According to the Observatory, none of these areas are controlled by IS.

“Russian warplanes struck Al-Qaryatain this morning”, the source said.

“Does it exist, the Free Syrian Army?”

The Syrian rebel militant group hit by the first wave of Russian airstrikes Wednesday had been trained by the Central Intelligence Agency, Republican U.S. Sen.

“Our message to the Russians – I met with Putin – please join this fight against Da’esh,” he said, using another name for ISIS. “There is nothing to object to so I will be very curious to see what they say against this resolution”.

A man holds a baby that survived what activists said was a site hit by a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the old city of Aleppo, Syria, June 3, 2015.

“We have also been regrouping and redeploying our elements,” he said.

The Russian Air Forces have started operations to destroy the positions of the terrorists of Islamic State on the territory of Syria, where the military conflict has been going on since March 2011 in which more than 220 thousand people have become victims. It doesn’t address a potential attack by Russian planes and does not include Syrian rebels who have not been through the US military training.

A spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry also rejected the reports of civilian deaths and called them part of an “information war”.

The Russian minister did not respond directly to a question asking specifically whether or not Russia is targeting opposition groups supported by the U.S.-led coalition. “We call on Russian Federation to target carefully”.

The alarming possibilities of an accidental military clash between USA and Russian forces urged Washington and Moscow officials to discuss pilot distress signals, language issues and other precautionary measures during a video conference to avoid unnecessary encounters, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.

“Daesh withdrew from the northern countryside of Homs in an announcement they made a year ago after the groups refused to deal with them, including Ahrar al Sham and Revolutionaries Front,” he said. The main threat to Assad is not but ISIS, which the Syrian leader has often tolerated, but rather Syria’s non-ISIS rebels including al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise as well as more moderate rebel groups.

The statement expressed “deep concern” over Russia’s air strikes which “led to civilian casualties and did not target” IS.