Russia warns US, says special forces helping

MOSCOW – The Associated Press

Russia has issued a stern warning to U.S. forces and their allies in Syria, saying it has deployed Russian special forces alongside Syrian government troops in the battle for the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province and that Moscow would retaliate if the Russians come under fire.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said the U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have already shelled Syrian government positions outside of Deir el-Zour twice in recent days. The Russian special forces deployment raises the specter of a direct confrontation on the ground between Russian forces and pro-Syrian troops they back on one side, and the U.S.-supported Syrian forces on the other. U.S. special forces are also operating with the SDF, providing artillery and other support.

Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which Turkey sees as terrorist for its link to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), makes up the backbone of the SDF. “Syrian forces have twice come under massive mortar and rocket artillery fire coming from the areas on the eastern bank of the Euphrates where SDF fighters and U.S. special forces are deployed,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

Konashenkov said the warning was delivered to the U.S. military command. Russian special forces have been deployed to help Syrian government forces fighting the Islamic State of Iraq ant the Levant (ISIL) outside Deir el-Zour, he also said yesterday.

“Attempts to open fire from SDF-controlled areas would be immediately met with retaliation,” he said. 
“The firing positions in those areas will be immediately destroyed with all the arsenal at our disposal.”

However, a Syrian commander with the U.S.-backed SDF denied Russian accusations of shelling, saying at least 7 kilometers of ISIL-held territory separates them from the Syrian government troops.

The SDF has already accused Russia of targeting its troops in Deir el-Zour in an airstrike last week, a claim Moscow denied.

Russia began its operation to support President Bashar Assad’s offensive against the ISIL in Syria in 2015.