Politics
11:07, 11-Sep-2017
Russian airstrikes 'kill at least 34 in eastern Syria'
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Russian warplanes targeted ferries carrying civilians across the Euphrates River near Syria's eastern city of Deir Ezzor on Sunday, killing at least 34 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britain-based monitor initially reported 21 deaths from Russian airstrikes but later raised the toll to 34, saying that "more bodies have been found in the river."
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said nine children were among those killed fleeing fighting and that "dozens" of people were wounded in the strikes.
Major General Issam Zahreddine (R) of the Syrian Republican Guard talks with a civilian in Deir Ezzor on September 10, 2017, as they continue a push with Russian air cover in the offensive against ISIL. /AFP Photo
Major General Issam Zahreddine (R) of the Syrian Republican Guard talks with a civilian in Deir Ezzor on September 10, 2017, as they continue a push with Russian air cover in the offensive against ISIL. /AFP Photo
He said the raids targeted "more than 40 ferries" that had left Al-Boulil town southwest of Deir Ezzor city for the eastern shore of the river.
The Observatory relies on a network of sources inside Syria, and says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used.
Moscow intervened in Syria in September 2015 in support of its ally President Bashar al-Assad.
Sunday's reported raids came as Syrian troops pressed an offensive against ISIL jihadists across Deir Ezzor province with Russian air cover.
A Syrian boys holds cans of food in Deir Ezzor on September 10, 2017, as Syrian government forces continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against ISIL. /AFP Photo
A Syrian boys holds cans of food in Deir Ezzor on September 10, 2017, as Syrian government forces continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against ISIL. /AFP Photo
At the same time, an alliance of US-backed Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters is also on the move against ISIL in Deir Ezzor.
The Syrian Democratic Forces on Saturday announced they had begun clearing ISIL jihadists from areas east of the Euphrates, which cuts diagonally across the province.
On Sunday, the Observatory said fighters from the SDF's Deir Ezzor Military Council (DEMC) had made a sweeping advance, capturing territory just kilometers from this provincial capital.
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Source(s): AFP