On Friday, the head of the Russian delegation and special envoy to Astana, President Alexander Lavrentyev announced that the airspace in these areas is banned from the so-called anti-EIIL (Daesh, Arabic), orchestrated by the United States. However, Rankine-Galloway said that the coalition will strive to minimize the potential for air incidents in those areas. Captain Jeff Davis, another Pentagon spokesman, explained that the Russian Army had not informed the American Portfolio about the veto on flights in the safe areas.
Air strikes in Syria
As stipulated in the memorandum, agreed upon by the Government of Damascus and the armed opposition, all combat between government forces and armed groups will be halted as of May 6th.
The Deputy Chief of Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff, Lieutenant General Stanislav Gadzhimagodov, openly threatened "repressive fire against the transgressors of the memorandum."
"The coalition will continue to attack wherever they are operating (EIIL members) to ensure they have no shelter," Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a spokesman for the United States Department of Defense (Pentagon), said on Friday.
The official argued that Washington is not part of the agreement signed between Russia, Iran and Turkey in Astana, the Kazakh capital, which stipulates the creation of four zones of "reduced tension" throughout the Arab country. These four areas of contention cover the province of Idlib (northwest), part of the neighboring Latakia, Aleppo, and Hama, (part of the north of the central province of Homs, East Guta, near the capital, Damascus), as well as certain areas in the south of the country.
Eight civilians killed in US attacks in Syria
Air Strikes by the US and its allies, directed against the supposed terrorist positions, caused the death of eight civilians in Syria. The opposition, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), reported on Wednesday that the coalition's attacks were allegedly launched against an ammunition depot belonging to members of the Yehir al-Suna takfirí group in the Atmeh region, northwest of the province of Idlib.
The OSDH, in addition to condemning US air strikes launched in civilian areas, urged the coalition to not terrorize areas that are inhabited by civilians from any military operation. 18 people are confirmed dead, eight of whom were civilians, including two women and five children, OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahman said, continuing that, "There was a big explosion after the attacks."
