Damascus forces advance closer to Raqqah: Syrian envoy

The Syrian ambassador to Russia says Damascus forces have advanced close to Raqqah, the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group’s stronghold in Syria, being now only 20 km away from the city.

“The Syrian army is moving successfully, it is now some 20 km from Raqqah,” Riyad Haddad said on Thursday, adding that the militants are leaving their bases “possibly to hide”, Press TV reported.

Haddad further linked growing terrorist attacks targeting civilians in Syria to the terrorists’ inability to resist the Syrian armed forces.

A Syrian military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said government troops, backed by Russian air power, are now closer to Raqqah than the armed units of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab forces.

“We are gradually moving towards al-Raqqah from the south and from the west and are now closer to it than opposition forces, which are acting jointly with the US,” he said.

Raqqah city, on the northern bank of the Euphrates River, about 160 km east of Aleppo, was overrun by Takfiri terrorists in March 2013, and in 2014 was proclaimed the center for most of the terrorists’ administrative and control tasks.

Syrian forces are now engaged in a military offensive to liberate the ISIL-held city.

Elsewhere, a Russian ceasefire monitoring center in Syria warned that al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front terrorists continue to shell populated areas in Aleppo Province.

The Syrian envoy also accused Turkey of planning to form an “incubator” for terrorist groups in northern Syria, underlining the necessity for closing the border between the two states in a bid to cut the flow of arms to terrorists.

He further warned that “terror will backfire on the countries that have used this card.”

Damascus regards Turkey as one of the main supporters of the militants fighting the government forces in the Arab country.

In another development on the diplomatic front, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed worries Thursday about a halt in the Syria peace talks, highlighting the need for the resumption of negotiations between warring sides.

Lavrov made the remarks at a press conference with his visiting Jordanian counterpart, Nasser Judeh.

“We now see considerable progress on the issue of delivering humanitarian assistance to the needy population, we see the constructive efforts made by the Syrian government, and we believe that, nevertheless, more can be done here,” Lavrov said.

SS