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News ID: 34253
Publish Date : 09 December 2016 - 20:26
U.S. Rushing Arms as Terrorists Face Rout:

93% of Aleppo Under Syrian Army Control



MOSCOW (Dispatches) – The Syrian army has liberated 52 blocks in the eastern parts of the city of Aleppo from the grip foreign-backed militants and is now in control of 93% of the northwestern city, the Russian general staff said on Friday.
"As a result of a successful advance, 52 districts of eastern Aleppo have been freed from militants,” Russian Defense Ministry official Sergei Rudskoi said in comments broadcast on state television.
"Over the past four days, territory controlled by militants decreased by one third. The Syrian army controls 93% of the city’s territory,” he added.
He said as many as 10,500 people have left eastern Aleppo since Thursday, adding that the city’s residents have reported torture, public executions by the so-called moderate militants backed by the U.S. and its allies.
"Civilians who escaped from terrorists talk about new crimes committed by militants of the so-called moderate opposition in eastern Aleppo. Cases of torture, public executions and massacres of the population have been confirmed,” the Russian official said.
Rudskoi noted that over 3,000 residents of the strategic city have so far returned to their houses and added that dozens of tonnes of humanitarian aid have been delivered to liberated Aleppo districts on a daily basis.
He further said more than 1,000 militants have surrendered arms and left eastern Aleppo while 953 of them have been granted amnesty.
"Thus, the Syrian government fully fulfills its obligations to help return participants of illegal armed groups to peaceful life," the Russian general added.
Damascus has called on the militants holed up in Aleppo’s east to lay down arms and surrender. The Syrian president has ordered for those militants choosing to stop fighting to be granted amnesty.
Elsewhere, Rudskoi stressed that Russian and Syrian warplanes have not carried out any airstrike over Aleppo since October 18.
"I emphasize that such results have been achieved only by Syrian army's ground forces,” Rudskoi pointed out.
He further said that 21 facilities, including two schools and two mosques, have been cleared of explosive devices in Aleppo over the past 24 hours, adding that over 1,040 settlements have joined the ceasefire in Syria.
Syria has set up several humanitarian corridors to facilitate the exit of civilians from the eastern districts. Reports coming out of Aleppo say the terrorists are using people as human shields to slow the army’s advances.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a recent interview that the victory in the battle for Aleppo will be "a huge step” in bringing the war in Syria to an end.
"It’s true that Aleppo will be a win for us, but let’s be realistic, it won’t mean the end of the war in Syria. But it will be a huge step towards this end,” Assad said in an interview with Al-Watan newspaper.
The recent army gains have flown in the face of the unstinting financial and military support, which many foreign states have been providing to the militants since 2011 to secure the ouster of President Assad.
On Friday, Moscow warned the U.S. against easing its alleged arms embargo against Syria-based militants, saying the move would pose a threat to the entire Middle East.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said U.S. weapons could end up in wrong hands if Washington goes ahead with the plan to lift restrictions on arms the deliveries to the so-called "moderate” militants.
The White House said Thursday U.S. President Barack Obama had relaxed the so-called Arms Export Control Act for the militants "supporting U.S. Special Forces” in Syria, saying such leniency would contribute to "the national security interests” of the U.S.
"Certainly, the worst result of this decision would be those weapons, including MANPADs (man-portable anti-air missiles), ending up in the hands of terrorists, which of course poses a serious threat not only for the region, but for the entire world,” Peskov said.
The official said such weapons could "definitely” end up being used against the Russian air force, which has been aiding counterterrorism operations in Syria since last September.
Last year, Washington earmarked almost $500 million to arming and training of the "moderates.” It had also slackened its arms embargo against certain militants back in 2013.