Local citizens in a suburb of Syria’s Raqqa have started an uprising against arbitrary actions of groups controlled by the United States, head of the Russian General Staff Main Operations Directorate Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy said on Friday.
The Colonel-General says the uprising has begun on 25th of March in Al-Mansurah town, located just 25 kilometers south-west of Raqqa. Local population was angered by actions of US-backed militants who “act like invaders on local soil”.
As Colonel-General notes, Syrian Defence Forces and the local self-governing agencies appointed by the United States are unable to cope with the humanitarian crisis at their hands.
“The indigenous Arab population is subject to mass repressions, looting, forced mobilization. This leads to discontent of the local populace”, adds Rudskoy
The situation in Raqqa can only be described as “catastrophic”.
“In the province’s capital, to which almost 95 thousand people have returned, the infrastructure is almost completely destroyed. There is no semblance of public services, only one hospital and a maternity ward are still functional”
Rudskoy notes, that due to the destroyed water pipeline, water has to be taken directly from the Euphrates, increasing risk of infection and disease.
Colonel-General Rudskoy calls upon the SDF command to open a way to Raqqa and Rukban refugee camp enabling international humanitarian organizations and UN convoys to provide aid to the local populace.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces command and local self-government bodies appointed by the Americans have been unable to solve humanitarian problems,” the Colonel-General said.
The situation in eastern Ghouta
Colonel-General also notes that fighting in eastern Ghouta has ceased almost a week ago.
As Rudskoy says, most of the territory is under control of the government forces and a humanitarian mission of “unprecedented scale” is already taking place.
“Since the beginning of humanitarian operation in the region, 143,194 people, including 105,857 civilians, as well as 13,793 militants and 23,544 members of their families, have been withdrawn from eastern Ghouta,” the Colonel-General added.