The Commander of Syria’s Allied Forces Warns Militants and their Foreign Backers

The commander of Syria's allied forces described the recent militant attack on buses meant to evacuate civilians from the besieged the towns of Kefraya and Foua as "inhumane, criminal, and immoral".

In a statement he warned, "this trick will not fool us, and we hold the terrorist and the countries sponsoring them responsible and demand they fulfill their obligations."

The commander added that, "militants who want to leave with their small-arms will have to wait until the civilians get out of the villages of Kefraya and Foua, and any delay is your [the militants] responsibility."

"We respect the agreements of the Syrian State, and we are not against any agreement it carries out to protect its citizens," the statement adds.

The senior military official also addressed states backing militant groups in Syria.

"The countries sponsoring and influencing the militants still have the opportunity to find the right solution that satisfies everyone starting with a speedy and secure exit of civilians."

The commander also pointed to the "historic responsibility" held by the "international community and humanitarian organizations for a lack of interest in the the people Kefraya and Foua for years."

The statement comes amid ongoing evacuations of the two besieged towns, which are running parallel to those of eastern Aleppo.

"We affirm the outcome of political communications through the delegates of Russia, Syria, and its allies, as well as the Turks and Jaish Al Fateh [the army of conquest] and Ahrar Al Sham that an agreement on the exchange was supposed to take place today," the commander continued.

"The deal involves a humanitarian evacuation of the sick, the wounded, and the elderly from the villages of Kefraya and Foua to Aleppo, in exchange for the continuing exit of militants with their small-arms and families. The implementation should be concurrent with the entry of the of buses to the two areas."

He goes on to explain that, "this agreement came as a result of protests by the residents of Kefraya and Foua and the interception of a convoy of militants leaving the eastern neighborhoods and heading to the militant-controlled areas. [It is also because] of the failure of the first agreement, which did not include the humanitarian situation as well as the disregard of the international community and aid groups for the plight of the trapped civilians."

"In order not to disable the first agreement and aggravate the situation which might lead to a clash between the protesters of Kefraya and Foua and the insurgents, we intervened to save their lives. Since it is against our values ​​and ethics to take hostages after giving them safety, the militants and their families were sent back to the neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo," the commander said.

He also revealed that, "we had our hands on one of the most important militant leaders in Aleppo. He was not subjected to any harm and was returned to the eastern neighborhoods, because we do not act contrary to our values and high moral standards."

"What happened today -from the delay to implement the agreement, not allowing the buses to enter the two towns, and torching five of them, despite the prior assurances from the militants and their international backers that they would provide security and safe passage - is inhumane, immoral, and criminal. It is an expression of its continued aggression on the people's dignity and disregard for their lives," the statement asserts.

The commander warned his adversaries, "this trick will not fool us, and we hold the terrorist and the countries sponsoring them responsible and demand they fulfill their obligations...The countries sponsoring and influencing the militants still have the opportunity to find the right solution that satisfies everyone starting with accelerating the secure exit of the."

The statement also calls on the international community and aid groups "to pay closer attention to other Syrian areas like Deir Ezzour and others which have been calling, for some time, to have sieges lifted."

The commander of Syria's allied forces concluded by expressing his "respect [for] the agreements of the Syrian State, and we are not against any agreement it carries out to protect its citizens. We were already encouraging different agreements in most Syrian areas to protect Syrian civilians from the armed terrorist groups."

Source: Al-Ahed News