Syria War: Assad’s Government Accuses US of Massacre

Syria has accused the US of carrying out a “brutal massacre” with a bombing attack in Deir al-Zour province.

The overnight air strikes killed an estimated 100 pro-government fighters near the Euphrates river, according to the US.

The Syrian foreign ministry said it had written to the United Nations, demanding international condemnation.

The US claimed a right to self-defence, saying it was responding to an attack on allied Kurdish and Arab fighters.

It happened in the Middle Euphrates Valley, which serves as an informal demarcation line in eastern Syria. The government controls the western side and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) the east.

The two sides have clashed over the past year while trying to drive Islamic State (IS) militants from their last major stronghold in the country.

Syria described the latest strikes as “a war crime and a crime against humanity”, and said the US was directly supporting terrorism.

Elsewhere in Syria on Thursday, government warplanes bombed towns in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region, near the capital, Damascus, for a fourth day.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said at least 36 civilians were killed, bringing the death toll to 185 since Monday.

The Syrian government has also been accused of using chemical weapons on a rebel-held town in Idlib province earlier this week.

A Pentagon official said Russian mercenaries were among the dead after the strike, US media report. If confirmed, this would be the first time US forces have killed Russians in Syria.

However, the Russian Defence Ministry said it had no service personnel in the area. It said it was aware of 25 Syrian militia, who had been wounded in the strikes, but no casualties.

Russia accused the US of being motivated by economic concerns, as the strikes took place near an oil field.

Pentagon officials also said they believed Russia was trying to seize control of local oil operations.

Source: BBC