The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) held Russia responsible for injuring 4 American soldiers in an accident of its forces' collision with American forces in Hasakah, eastern Syria, a few days ago, for its part, Moscow accused the US forces of violating existing agreements between the two parties in Syria.
Regarding the incident, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said, "Russia in this incident violated the rules of engagement, and wounded the American military with its deliberate provocative actions."
He continued, saying: We have informed the Russians that their movements are dangerous and that they cannot be accepted in any way, indicating that they follow the rules of engagement, and make every effort to avoid unnecessary tensions.
Hoffman praised his soldiers, saying that they in the field acted professionally and calmly so that this collision did not take other dimensions.
He added that his forces in Syria expect to return to the routine confrontation without Saddam in Syria, stressing that they "reserve the right to defend themselves" in any situation that endangers the safety of their soldiers.
John Oliot, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, affiliated with the White House, previously said that on Tuesday morning, August 25, a confrontation took place between a routine security patrol of the international coalition against ISIS and a Russian military one near the city of Malikiyah, near Hasakah. .
The American spokesman pointed out that the Russian vehicle hit an anti-minesweeper vehicle belonging to the coalition, causing injury to its crew, pointing out that "in order to calm the situation, the coalition patrol left the area."
• On August 24, another confrontation occurred between US and Russian forces near Al-Malikiyah in Syria
• Russian helicopters flew over the US convoy
• A long video of the incident where US forces MRAP try to disrupt a Russian Typhoon patrol pic.twitter.com/Dur7VatCmX
Defense Arab (@defensearab) August 26, 2020
Russia accuses,
and earlier Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry commented on the incident, in a statement saying, "In violation of existing agreements, the US military tried to prevent the Russian patrol, and in response, the military police of the Russian Armed Forces took the necessary measures to prevent the accident and continue carrying out the mission." ".
The Pentagon announced a conversation between the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, Mark Milley, and the Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov.
The American statement added that Gerasimov drew the attention of the American side to the fact that the leadership of the International Anti-Terrorism Coalition, in accordance with the current procedures, had been notified in advance of the passage of a convoy of the Russian military police.
Videos posted on social media showed Russian military vehicles, backed by two helicopters, driving dangerously near US armored vehicles. It was not clear where the videos came from.
The US military does not generally comment on casualties in its ranks in Syria. But a paratrooper was killed last month in a vehicle accident in eastern Syria.
And earlier this year, another video showed friction between Russian and American forces on a road in Syria.
There are still about 500 US troops in northern Syria after a sharp reduction in the number of forces that were initially present to drive Islamic State from all its strongholds in the country.