Syria says Raqqah still occupied, as US-backed forces replace Daesh terrorists
Syria says it still considers the northern city of Raqqah “an occupied city,” less than two weeks after US-backed Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) flushed out Daesh Takfiri terrorists from the city while still keeping government troops out of the liberating offensive.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry made the comments in a statement released on Sunday, adding that Raqqah, used to be Daesh’s de facto capital for a couple of years, still “cannot be considered liberated until the entry of the Syrian army, which is fighting” against terrorists “along with its allies.”
“The allegations of the United States and its so-called alliance concerning the liberation of the city of Raqqah from the Daesh terrorist group are pure lies,” further said the statement, carried by Syria's official news agency, SANA.
The ministry also asserted that Washington's goal was to “divert the eyes of the international community from the crimes committed by this alliance in the province of Raqqah.”
On October 17, the SDF coalition announced that it had defeated Daesh in Raqqah and three days later said that it had fully recaptured the city from the terror group, following a military operation, which was launched in July without Damascus’ approval.
At the time, the US-backed SDF also said in a provocative statement that the city would be part of a system of “federal government” in the country’s north.
The Syrian military has not so far engaged the SDF, which has reportedly shelled the positions of government troops on several occasions in recent weeks.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.
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