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Mass Graves in Aleppo Fuel Suspicion of So-Called 'Moderate Opposition' in Syria

© AFP 2023 / LOUAI BESHARASyrian army troops remove corpses from a mass grave (File)
Syrian army troops remove corpses from a  mass grave (File) - Sputnik International
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The information the Russian military is making public about Aleppo should change the attitudes of Washington and its European allies, military expert Andrey Koshkin told Sputnik.

Evacuees from rebel-held eastern Aleppo ride on pick-up trucks along the government-held area of al-Ramousah bridge, Syria December 16, 2016. - Sputnik International
Aleppo's Liberation is a 'Major Breakthrough' Offering Hope for Peace in Syria
In an interview with Sputnik, military expert Andrey Koshkin suggested that the information on Aleppo which was disclosed by the Russian military may change attitudes toward the so-called moderate Syrian opposition in Washington and among its European allies.

The interview came after Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that mass graves of torture victims have been uncovered in liberated Aleppo in northern Syria.

"Mass burial sites of many dozens [of Syrians] have been found; they had been subjected to brutal torture and [then] murdered. In many cases, body parts are missing; most victims had been shot in the head. And this, it seems, is only the beginning," according to Konashenkov.

© Photo : SANALiberated Aleppo. File photo
Liberated Aleppo. File photo  - Sputnik International
Liberated Aleppo. File photo

He said that the instances are being recorded as serious war crimes and will be given maximum publicity "so that European backers of the so-called opposition in London and Paris are well aware of who their [friends] actually are."

Konashenkov further revealed that militants from the "moderate opposition" in eastern Aleppo had booby-trapped nearly everything with explosives before leaving the city, including toys, streets, entrances to premises, cars and motorcycles.

Commenting on this, Andrey Koshkin said that the US and European countries should review their stance on the moderate Syrian opposition after the publication by Russia of information related to Aleppo.

"After the liberation of Aleppo from militants, unbiased information on the matter has witnessed demand, even in the West," Koshkin said.

He cited the current efforts of "many journalists" to disclose the details of the making of fake videos and information. These were targeted at justifying the actions of Syria's moderate opposition and terrorist organizations, as well as discredit Russia's activity in Syria.

"It was an information and political trap, with both Geneva and the information space repeatedly generating the idea of a 'moderate opposition'. Actually, it was a line aimed at supporting militants," he added.

Supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad carry their national flags and gesture as they tour the streets in celebration of what they say is the Syrian army's victory against the rebels in Aleppo, Syria December 12, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Konashenkov, meanwhile, added that seven large ammunition depots, enough to arm several infantry battalions, had also been discovered in Aleppo.
On December 22, Syrian government forces assumed full control of Aleppo as the last convoy with militants left the embattled city.

Syrian government forces have been fighting multiple opposition and terrorist groups, including Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, or Nusra Front. The Syrian civil war has been ongoing since 2011.

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