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Farcical Ceasefire in Aleppo |
| By
Stephen Lendman |
| Russian/Syrian good faith ceasefire efforts to provide humanitarian relief
for thousands of eastern Aleppo residents held hostage as human shields
by US-backed terrorists failed as expected. Ceasefire plays into their hands, letting them regroup, rearm and mobilize for further attacks - with full US support and encouragement. Russia and Syria know what’s going on and why. So why extend ceasefire another day, two or longer, letting terrorist forces grow stronger? The only way to liberate eastern Aleppo is by smashing them entirely, forcing their remaining elements to surrender or die. On Friday, Russian General Sergey Rudskoi said extending the humanitarian pause followed requests by pro-Western organizations, including the UN, supporting America’s imperial project. Russia agreed despite “so-called opposition groups and their curators” preventing anyone from leaving eastern Aleppo. Those trying risk death or serious injury. A western Aleppo resident told RT International that so-called Free Syrian Army and al-Nusra terrorists “open fire and beat and torture everyone…try(ing) to leave (areas of) the city” they control. His trapped family held hostage can’t get out - nor others in the besieged part of the city. Another Western Aleppo resident said thousands of eastern city hostages have no food, water, electricity or fuel. “They’ve got nothing,” she said. Rudskoi said Russian “requests to the Americans to make a positive influence on the fighters of the so-called opposition to make them stop the firing, to let civilians leave, and leave themselves remain unanswered.” Washington is deliberately and maliciously obstructing ceasefire and efforts to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to eastern Aleppo residents. It’s no secret why. Sustaining hostilities serve its interests, going all-out to prevent Aleppo’s liberation - so far short of direct intervention likely coming under Hillary’s leadership next year, risking direct confrontation with Russia. According to Rudskoi, eastern Aleppo terrorists mobilized around “1,200 (heavily armed) militants, among them 30 (suicide) bombers…read(ying) to…attack from the militant part of the city.” The longer Russia extends its humanitarian pause, the stronger terrorists get, the longer it’ll take to defeat them. US-backed eastern Aleppo fighters continue terrorizing thousands of residents - while their daily shelling kills civilians in liberated parts of the city. In the last 24 hours alone, eight died, over 30 injured, some seriously. Putin said Russia is willing to suspend airstrikes as long as needed - “until the terrorists in (eastern Aleppo) intensify their activity.” On Friday, he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Ukraine’s US-installed puppet leader Petro Poroshenko. So-called Normandy Four talks accomplished nothing toward resolving conflicts in Syria or Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry discussed conflict in Aleppo by phone. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement followed, saying: “The heads of the foreign ministries…discussed the ways to normalize the situation in the eastern part of Aleppo, where Syria’s government forces and Russia’s Aerospace Forces have announced a humanitarian pause in their military operations and are ready to extend it if al-Nusra Front and illegal armed groups that have joined it do not violate the ceasefire regime.” Diplomats talk endlessly, achieving nothing substantive, while Syrians die. How long will Russia continue the ceasefire charade? It’s harming, not helping defenseless victims, delaying Aleppo’s liberation, key to hoped for eventual triumph in Syria over US imperial ruthlessness! Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
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