Draining the East Aleppo Swamp
Dispatches from
STEPHEN LENDMAN
A According to the Russian language Izvestia broadsheet, Russian and Syrian forces intend draining the eastern Aleppo swamp if the current pause in fighting fails to halt it. Russia’s upper house Federation Council Senator Franz Klintsevich calls the current humanitarian pause the last chance for terrorists to leave the city, saying:
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“This ceasefire creates the possibility for civilians to leave the combat zone. Terrorists will have the same opportunity. After the humanitarian pause, the city (will be) cleansed (of) militants. But it will be very difficult to accuse Russia of ignoring the interests of civilians.”
“This ceasefire creates the possibility for civilians to leave the combat zone. Terrorists will have the same opportunity. After the humanitarian pause, the city (will be) cleansed (of) militants. But it will be very difficult to accuse Russia of ignoring the interests of civilians.”
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Syrian parliamentarian Jamal Rabia confirmed what’s planned, adding “Russia has put forth many efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Syrian conflict. But now it’s obvious that the US and its allies are not interested in such a scenario.”
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“The current ceasefire will be the last possibility for militants to leave the city. The following cleansing of the city is a military solution, but it will pave the way for talks to resolve the conflict.”
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On Wednesday, Assad explained “(o)ur mission, according to the Constitution, according to the law, is that we have to protect the people, that we have to get rid of those terrorists from Aleppo. This is where we can protect the civilians.”
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“How can we protect them while they are under the control of the terrorists? They’ve been killed by them and they’ve been controlled fully by the terrorists. Is this our role, to sit aside and watch? We need to attack the terrorists. That’s self-evident.”
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Hours into Thursday’s humanitarian pause, buses and ambulances continue waiting along eight exit corridors for civilians and militants not arriving from eastern Aleppo, terrorists blocking them from leaving, threatening to shoot anyone trying – with full US support and encouragement.
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Throughout over five-and-a-half years of conflict, Washington undermined Russia’s good faith conflict resolution efforts – showing Obama and neocons infesting his administration want continued war, not peace.
NOTE: ALL IMAGE CAPTIONS, PULL QUOTES AND COMMENTARY BY THE EDITORS, NOT THE AUTHORS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." ( http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html ) Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
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