UN official backs Russia’s raids in Syria

A member of the UN commission of inquiry on Syria has supported Russia's airstrikes against terrorist groups operating in the Arab country.

"I think the Russian intervention is a good thing, because finally someone is attacking these terrorist groups," Carla Del Ponte told Swiss broadcaster RTS on Monday, listing the ISIL Takfiri group and the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front among the groups targeted.

However, Del Ponte, a former Chief Prosecutor of UN International Criminal Law Tribunals, added that the Russians are not apparently “distinguishing enough between the terrorists and others.”

High-ranking Russian officials have repeatedly said that they are targeting all terrorist groups in Syria, including ISIL, denying Western media reports that civilians have been killed in Russian airstrikes.

Moscow began its aerial military campaign against terrorists in Syria on September 30 last year upon a request from the Damascus government. Since then, it has killed hundreds of ISIL terrorists and other foreign-backed militants, and inflicted heavy material damage on them.

She went on to say that peace would only be established in Syria through negotiation with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"If you want a ceasefire, if you want peace, you first have to negotiate with the government," the 68-year-old Swiss national said.

ME