Russia Slams US for Blaming Syrian Govt for University Attacks

Foreign Ministry Insists 'Terrorists' Responsible for Attack

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued a statement today condemned the United States for blaming the Assad government for the Tuesday attack on Aleppo University, which killed at least 87 people.

The university was hit by rockets, and the Syrian state media reported that they were anti-aircraft missiles the rebels had fired against aircraft overhead, and that they hit the university after missing their targets.

US reports have said that they will “not rule out” the possibility that the Assad regime “staged” the attacks on the Aleppo University for their own inscrutable reasons. Rebel factions also made a similar claim, but since Aleppo University was under regime control, it is hard to imagine why the regime would up and attack it at random.

Lavrov is ruling that out, saying it is “blasphemous” to insist that Assad would do such a thing. The Russian Foreign Ministry went on to say that it is blaming “terrorists,” though not any specific faction, for the attack.

Another disputed incident has occurred today in the far southern city of Daraa, where a pair of car bombings struck. State media blamed the al-Nusra Front for the attack, while rebels have so far declined to confirm the incident at all.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.