TEHRAN, November 27 - The Russian Defense Ministry has strongly rejected an allegation by the anti-Damascus Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) that Russian long-range bombers, in their counter-terrorism operations, have bombed a village in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - “Russian Aerospace Force planes have not been used to attack al-Shafah village in Dayr al-Zawr province,” the Ministry said in a statement on Monday, a few hours after the so-called group alleged that Russia’s Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range bombers on Sunday pounded a residential area in the village, killing more than 50 people.
“All information about such facilities is checked and verified on-line via various channels on the ground and by drones. Claims by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that Russian planes have raided al-Shafah are another in a series of fake news,” further read the ministerial statement, adding that the bombers only attack positions of international terror outfits and only far from of residential areas.
On Sunday, the ministry announced that six of its large bombers, which flew from an airfield in Russia, hit “terrorist strongholds” in the valley of the Euphrates River in the volatile province once again.
For the past few weeks, Russian Tu-22M3 bombers have been continually pounding positions of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in Dayr al-Zawr, paving the way for Syrian ground troops to advance more swiftly towards the last militant-held areas in the region.
Russia has been conducting air raids against Daesh and other terrorist outfits in Syria at the Damascus government’s request since September 2015. Moscow has also maintained a naval group in the Mediterranean since the start of its anti-terror campaign in the war-ravaged Arab country.
Syria conference in Sochi postponed until February
In another development, Russia’s RIA news agency, citing an unnamed diplomatic source, reported that a Russian-sponsored peace congress aimed at resolving years-long crisis in the Arab country, due to be held in the Russian city of Sochi next month, has been postponed until February.
On Sunday, an official source at Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said that Damascus would welcome the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, affirming that a delegation from the Syrian government would attend the event, which is expected to bring Damascus and opposition groups to the negotiating table.
The source also said that the government would also welcome all agreements reached in the congress, which includes a committee for discussing the current constitution.
Source: Presstv
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