MESOP “Telegraph UK NEWS” – HOW TO MAKE ALEPPO GROUND ZERO (PUTIN)
Russia launches major offensive in Syria with airstrikes on Idlib and Homs, as rebel-held east Aleppo bombarded for first time in weeks
Raf Sanchez, Middle East correspondent -15 November 2016 • 11:57am – Vladimir Putin launched a long-awaited offensive across Syria on Tuesday, with a wave of airstrikes ending a month of calm in east Aleppo and Russia’s newly-arrived aircraft carrier going into action for the first time. The barrage of attacks came just hours after Mr Putin first phone call with Donald Trump, who shares many of the Russian leader’s views on Syria and has signalled he might be open to joining forces with Russia in the Syrian conflict.
Analysts have long warned that Russia was likely to take Mr Trump’s election victory as a green light to ramp up its bombing campaign in Syria, knowing that a more sympathetic US president will replace Barack Obama in January. Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East institute, said it was “hard to ignore the timing of Russia’s offensive being 12 hours after Putin’s call with Trump. Russia now has two free hands in Syria.”
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had begun a “major operation” and that strikes had been launched from the Admiral Kuznetsov, the aircraft carrier which arrived this weekend after a provocative voyage through the English Channel and the Mediterranean.
Sukhoi-33 bombers took off the from aging carrier while Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from a frigate at targets inside Syria, said Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister. “For the first time in our naval history, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov started taking part in combat.”
Russia said the attacks were aimed at the Islamic State (Isil) and the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda-linked group in Syria and were focused on Idlib and Homs provinces. Mr Shoigu did not say if Russian forces were attacking Aleppo.
Russia has repeatedly claimed in the past to be bombing jihadist groups like Isil or al-Nusra when its fire has in fact been aimed at more moderate rebel groups opposed to the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.The 275,000 people trapped inside east Aleppo have enjoyed relative quiet since mid-October but on Tuesday afternoon the skies were once again filled with war planes and the city shook from bombs.
The Syrian military said it was attacking rebel groups inside east Aleppo and residents claimed five neighbourhoods had been hit by barrel bombs and explosives dropped with parachutes.
At least three people were reported dead in the first wave of strikes and video footage showed plumes of white smoke rising up into the clear afternoon sky. They were the first attacks on east Aleppo since October 18.
“People are scared. The bombardment is intense,” said Baraa al-Halaby, a resident of the besieged enclave.
Regime and Russian airstrikes have continued to pound the opposition-controlled countryside to the west of the city and three hospitals have been bombed this week.
The attacks have been expected for weeks but began hours after Mr Putin and Mr Trump spoke about what the Kremlin described as “the absolutely unsatisfactory state of bilateral relations” between Russia and the US.
“Mr Putin and Mr Trump both spoke of the need to work together in the struggle against the number one common enemy – international terrorism and extremism. In this context, they discussed issues related to solving the crisis in Syria,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
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The Obama administration has been deeply critical of Mr Putin’s intervention in Russia and suggested that Russian bombing of civilian targets in Syria may constitute a war crime. It has also called for Mr Assad to step down from power and has offered some support to Syrian rebel groups.
Mr Trump said he had the “opposite view of many people regarding Syria” and signalled he would end US backing for Syrian rebels and was open to seeing Mr Assad stay in power. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we got together with Russia and knocked the hell out of Isil?” he said earlier this year. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/15/russia-begins-major-offensive-in-syria-with-airstrikes-on-idlib/