Russia’s Defense Ministry is saying a UN humanitarian aid convoy in Syria “caught fire,” despite clear evidence it was heavily bombed.
“We have studied video footage from the scene from so-called ‘activists’ in detail and did not find any evidence that the convoy had been struck by ordnance,” Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Interfax news.
Video of the aftermath of the attack show smoldering trucks with bodies of aid workers, clearly ripped apart by airstrikes. Activists note that 18 of the 31 trucks were destroyed.
Konashenkov’s statement comes after Russia falsely claimed it had no knowledge of the convoy’s whereabouts. Drone footage published by Russia itself show its military following the aid convoy, clearly disproving its claim.
Both Syria and Russia had clear knowledge of the convoy’s movements, according to Department of State spokesman John Kirby, who expressed U.S. “outrage” at the attack. Syria or Russia likely bombed the convoy because it was carrying aid bound for rebel-held areas of the city of Aleppo. Assad and Russia have undertaken a consistent campaign to make life as miserable as possible in Aleppo, to soften rebel support and accelerate its recapture.
A spokesman for the UN noted that if the convoy was deliberately targeted by Syria or Russia, it would amount to a war crime, warning, “the perpetrators should know that they will one day be held accountable for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”
The attack on the convoy came almost immediately after the Syrian military unilaterally declared an end to a tentative ceasefire. The U.S. tried to broker a ceasefire with Russia in Syria that was supposed to last for a week. If the ceasefire held, the U.S. would partner with Russia to jointly target terrorist targets inside Syria.
Despite Syria and Russia’s egregious violations of the ceasefire, the State Department is still trying to find a way to maintain the tenuous reduction in violence. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday there is “very little” hope of any reconciliation.
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