Russia refutes reports of striking Aleppo residential districtAugust 19, 2016 - 17:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia on Friday, August 19 denied that one of its air raids hit a dazed and bloodied Syrian boy whose heart-wrenching photograph has drawn worldwide attention, the Daily Mail reports. The defense ministry issued an official denial that it carried out a strike on eastern Aleppo on Wednesday evening when the images of four-year-old Omran were taken. "The Russian planes operating in Syria never work on targets that are inside settled areas," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. The photographer who shot the video for Aleppo Media Centre, a network of activists, told AFP he took the images after an air strike on Wednesday night hit the Qaterji neighborhood in eastern Aleppo.
Konashenkov said Qaterji was particularly out of bounds for Russian strikes because it adjoins two of the humanitarian corridors Moscow has opened for residents to flee. He branded Western media reports on Omran as a "cynical exploitation" of the tragic situation in eastern Aleppo and "cliched anti-Russian propaganda". He suggested the attack could have been carried out by rebels in Aleppo using homemade rockets to target roads close to the humanitarian corridors to undermine Russia's efforts, the Daily Mail says. He also suggested however that the area where Omran may not have been bombed at all, citing footage of unbroken windows. "If a strike really did take place," he said, it was not an aerial strike but either a gas cylinder "used in large quantities there by terrorists" or a mortar shell. Russia said Thursday that its strikes by warplanes based in Iran hit areas held by the Islamic State jihadist group in Deir Ez-zor province, the third day of raids from the Hamedan base. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |