Russia and the US hold more talks over Syrian crisis, as IS launches jihad against both
Damascus (AsiaNews) - The United States and Russia held a third round of talks on air safety in Syria after US and Russian combat aircraft came within miles of each other on Saturday, 10 October.
On the ground, government forces have launched more attacks against rebel positions around the capital Damascus, whilst Islamic State (IS) forces are on the offensive in Aleppo at the expense of other rebel groups.
Washington and Moscow continue to vet each other’s interventions in Syria. Whilst both are united against IS, they are at opposite ends vis-à-vis Syrian President Bashar al Assad, and some rebel groups opposed to him, such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.
Russia began its campaign of air strikes in Syria on 30 September, saying it was targeting Islamic State (IS) militants and other jihadist groups after a request to help militarily from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Although the US criticised the move, local sources said that it stopped the IS advance.
Speaking about the narrow escape in the air, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said, “Even as we continue to disagree on Syria policy, we should be able to at least agree on making sure our airmen are as safe as possible".
Such incidents are "dangerous" and could lead to accidents that might ultimately lead to an escalation between the two sides.
Indeed, Moscow’s intervention has increased the stakes in the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 245,000 people since March 2011, and displaced millions.
Russia claims that its raids target IS, the most dangerous group. Since last year, it has controlled large swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory.
However, Washington accuses Moscow of targeting moderate Western-backed rebels fighting Assad in order to prop up the latter.
In the last 24 hours, Russian jets hit 40 Islamic State targets in new strikes in Aleppo, Idlib, and Latakia, in north-western Syria, and Dayr ar Zawr, in the east. IS leaders reacted by launching a jihad against Russia and the United States, with threats posted online against Moscow.
"Muslims everywhere to launch jihad against the Russians and the Americans" who are waging "a crusader war against Muslims,” said IS spokesman Abu Mohamed al-Adnani.
Likewise, an al-Nusra official also threatened Moscow. Saying its air war would have dire consequences, he called on jihadists in the Caucasus to fight and kill Russians to avenge Moscow’s air strikes.
For its part, the United States continues to send weapons and supplies to other Syrian Arab groups fighting both IS (and President Assad), in spite of recent reports that the latter are selling their weapons to al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.
A US-allied Syrian rebel commander surrendered six coalition-provided trucks and ammunition to an intermediary linked to the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, known as the al-Nusra Front, the Guardian newspaper reported in late September. The items were apparently turned over in exchange for safe passage within the region.
If confirmed, for Washington this would be but the latest in a series of failures in its anti-IS strategy in Syria and Iraq.
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