Lavrov: ‘Army of Aleppo’ Formation Ploy to Shield Nusra Terrorists
Local Editor
Russia said the formation of the so-called Army of Aleppo in the east of the Syrian city is an attempt to disguise and shield the al-Nusra Front terrorist group.
"I do not rule out that this is just another attempt to rebrand al-Nusra Front and shield it from righteous retaliation," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Rome on Friday.
Lavrov stressed that nearly all the militant groups in the eastern part of the flashpoint Syrian city, where the "Army of Aleppo" was recently formed, are under the control of al-Nusra Front.
"As I have already mentioned, according to our intelligence,... practically all armed opposition groups in eastern Aleppo report to al-Nusra Front. Nusra has some 1,500 militants there, while other groups under its command have up to 6,000 militants," he said.
Al-Nusra is an affiliate of al-Qaeda that has recently renamed itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and claimed to have broken up with al-Qaeda in what has largely been interpreted as a decoy attempt.
Russia has long been pressing for the designation of al-Nusra as a terrorist group at the United Nations Security Council. Such attempts have, however, been hindered by the United States.
Lavrov also said his country had supported an initiative by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on the exit of militants from eastern Aleppo.
"De Mistura proposed allowing all terrorists to leave eastern Aleppo, we, despite the idea's controversy, supported it and were ready to cooperate with it," he said, adding the proposal "was blocked by those who, we are convinced, are interested in eastern Aleppo remaining under the control of terrorists." He did not elaborate.
The Syrian government holds and defends the city's western side and has been purging its east of militants.
Meanwhile, a monitoring group said on Friday that Syrian troops had taken control of half of the militant-held areas in eastern Aleppo.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
