© fredonialeader.comNATO, US: Not worth mentioning.
The US-led anti-terror coalition in Syria has been "astonishingly" silent about recent reports claiming dozens of civilian casualties in Manbij were caused by its airstrikes, Russia's UN Ambassador said, expressing fears that the probe could be scuttled. Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on Monday, Vitaly Churkin said that, while Moscow has been "extremely worried" by the reports of civilian deaths in northern Syria, delegations from the Western countries"astonishingly...
did not say a word" regarding the matter during the meeting.
Pointing out that an investigation into civilian casualties caused by NATO bombings in Libya has not been forthcoming even five years on, Churkin said no "promises of investigation" on the Manjib deaths were necessary. "I'm sure the American military already very well know the state of affairs," the UN Ambassador said.
After Churkin's speech, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said that Washington would "carefully and thoroughly review any and all credible information we can gather about the incident, including information from organizations within Syria that document harm to civilians." Saying that "the United States goes to extraordinary lengths to reduce the risk of non-combatant casualties," the
US official instead accused both Damascus and Moscow of striking "hospitals, clinics and medical personnel" in Syria.Churkin said his US counterpart's surprising reference to the role of civil organizations in investigating the deaths in Aleppo province made him believe that
the truth would probably never be known and "everything [could be] swept under the carpet."
"So are there no American drones, no American- and their allies' special forces in Syria, no satellite intelligence capabilities of the US, no videos which are being made by all modern fighter jets when conducting a strike? I would not want to believe that the military condition of the US-led coalition is so poor," Churkin told the Security Council meeting, adding that Russia's Defense Ministry "instantly" conducts investigations when accusations against Moscow emerge - and makes all of the evidence public.
Comment: Duterte means business! He also said, soon after being elected in a landslide victory: He also said more recently: