South Front
Staff Sgt. Roidan Carlson, 2d Combat Camera Squadron aerial combat broadcaster, and Royal Jordanian Air Force Lt. Col. Firas Masadeh, a flying wing commander, taxi in an RJAF F-16 Fighting Falcon before an aerial photography mission May 13, 2014, at an air base in northern Jordan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Sara Greco/Released)
The United States-led coalition continues to commit gross violations of deconfliction protocols over Syria, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, deputy head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, said on June 22.
The Russian commander said that coalition fighter jets and drones violated the deconfliction protocols 18 times just a day earlier.
“Gross violations of the deconfliction protocols and the bilateral Memorandum on Air Safety in Syria by the US-led so-called international coalition continue. Violations are purposeful and systematic. Over the past day, 18 cases of violations related to the flights of drones and aviation of the coalition were recorded,” Gurinov told a briefing, noting that terror attacks against Syrian troops and civilians have increasingly become frequent.
Tensions between Russian and U.S. forces in Syria have been mounting since Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine last year.
Combined Forces Air Component Commander for U.S. Central Command Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich said on June 21 that the U.S. is ready to send more troops to the Middle East in order to “deter aggression.”
The comments were delivered in response to a question about the effect of the recent U.S. deployment of stealthy F-22 Raptor fighter jets in the region.
“We are here to stay, and we will bring forces into the region as needed to deter aggression,” Grynkewich said.
The commander added that the recently deployed Reports meant to ensure regional stability and reset the U.S. relations with Russia in Syria.
“While the US does not have as many forces in the region on a daily basis as we did, say, three or four years ago, we do have the ability to very rapidly bring other forces from outside the region,” he said.
Just a day after the Raptors arrived at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in northern Jordan, Russian fighter jets reportedly flew over a U.S. garrison located in the southeastern Syrian area of al-Tanf. Later, there were reports of Russian airstrikes on U.S. proxies in the area.
The U.S. maintains some 900 troops between al-Tanf and a number of oil fields in Syria’s northeastern region under the pretext of fighting ISIS. Unlike the Russian military deployment in the country, the American presence is not approved by the legitimate government in Damascus.
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