For first time, deaths from US-led airstrikes exceed those from Russia attacks


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UPDATE 1345 GMT: The US envoy for the campaign against the Islamic State, Brett McGurk, meets officials of the Raqqa Civil Council in a two-hour, closed-door session:


UPDATE 0800 GMT: The pro-opposition site al-Dorar says dozens of civilians were killed in a US-led airstrike on an Islamic State prison in Deir ez-Zor Province in eastern Syria on Tuesday.

The site said from “field sources” that about 40 civilians died in the town of Mayadin when the ISIS building was hit.


ORIGINAL ENTRY: In addition to the tens of thousands killed by regime aerial attacks and thousands slain by Russian bombing, Syrians are now facing a “staggering” rise in deaths from the strikes of the US-led coalition.

Airwars, which tracks the civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria, has documented the UN’s claim with documentation of an increase of 30% in deaths from January to May 2017 over all of 2016.

In May alone, coalition airstrikes killed 23% more people in Syria than in April, with at least 57 women and 52 children amid the casualties in both Iraq and Syria. That rise followed an incident in March in which up to 200 people were slain in a single US attack near ISIS-held Raqqa.

Alex Hopkins of Airwars say that there are now up to six “incidents” in Raqqa, the Islamic State’s central position in Syria, as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces pursue a final offensive. In one bombing on June 5, up to 21 civilians were reportedly killed when the coalition hit boats trying to ferry people to safety across the Euphrates River.

Hopkins says the Raqqa deaths are “even more troubling” than those in Iraq’s second city Mosul, where Iraqi forces are closing on victory over ISIS with the assistance of US strikes:

To some extent, given how densely populated parts of Mosul city are, it was expected that civilian death tolls would be high. But the villages and towns that surround Raqqa governorate’s capital hold comparably fewer civilians – and yet numerous and large-scale casualty events have become the norm since March.

In Raqqa, there appears to be little correlation between what is being destroyed and civilian fatalities. In a recent study, I discovered that the number of targets bombed in Raqqa decreased by 39% from February to March. Consequently, we expected to see civilian deaths decrease – instead they rose more than fivefold to an all-time high of at least 275 civilians likely killed in the area.

In short, more civilians are dying in Raqqa even when fewer targets are hit.

For the first time since Russia’s intervention in September 2015, the coalition is now killing more civilians than Moscow, with 2 1/2 times more “casualty events” in May.


Mattis: Assad “Took US Warning Seriously” Over Next Chemical Attack

Defense Secretary James Mattis has told reporters that Bashar al-Assad took this week’s US warning “seriously” against any preparations for another chemical attack.

The White House said on Monday that it had intelligence pointing to another regime assault, following the April 4 nerve agent attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib Province in northwest Syria. It promised that the regime would pay “a heavy price” if it proceeded.

Mattis said today that the Pentagon had seen “suspicious activity” at Shayrat Airbase, from where the Khan Sheikhoun attack was launched in recent days, and added, “I think Assad’s chemical program goes far beyond one airbase.”

However, the Defense Secretary said that, since Monday, there had been now indications of regime chemical weapons activity.


Video: Women’s Art Exhibition in Idlib Province

A short report about a women’s art exhibition in the town of Ahsem, south of Idlib city, in northwest Syria.

While the exhibition is about the suffering of Syria, the director of the Women and Children’s Office of the Local Council, Fataim al-Hajji, explains that it also aims to demonstrate the role and potential of women in the town.

The Women and Children’s Office, with five staff, opened in early June. It seeks to provide training in areas such as small project management and leadership skills.


Turkey Clashes with Kurdish Militia YPG in Northwest Syria

Turkish forces have clashed with the Kurdish militia YPG near the border in northwest Syria.

The Turkish military said it retaliated with artillery fire overnight after YPG fighters opened fire on Turkish-backed rebels, south of the town of Azaz.

“Fire support vehicles in the region were used to retaliate in kind against the harassing fire and the identified targets were destroyed/neutralized,” a military statement said.

The Turkish daily Yeni Safak, a supporter of the Erdoğan Government, proclaims, “Final Preparations for Turkey’s Afrin Operation” against the Kurdish canton in the northwest.

However, a local source is cautious about the claim: “The scenario is plausible but Turkey’s artillery retaliations to YPG fire from Afrin is not exactly a sign that an offensive has begun.”


Video and Pictures: Assad Visits Russian Airbase in Western Syria

Bashar al-Assad has paid his first visit to Russia’s Hmeimim airbase, south of Latakia in western Syria:

Assad was joined by Russia’s Army Chief of Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, as he mingled with Russian Air Force personnel.

As Assad visited — and amid Washington’s warning of the regime’s possible preparations for another chemical attack — US intelligence aircraft flew just off the western coast of Syria.

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