LOC22:55
19:55 GMT
WASHINGTON, June 21 (KUNA) -- The US voiced Friday its deep concern by the
Assad regime's ongoing seizures of neighborhoods in Damascus and the welfare
of the residents.
State Department Acting Deputy Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell told reporters
that the US voiced "deep concern by the Assad regime's ongoing seizures of the
Damascus neighborhoods of Al-Qaboun and Al-Barzeh."
He added that the two neighborhoods in Damascus "where regime forces, with
the support of Hezbollah, have now repeatedly cut off access to food and
medical supplies to 40,000 residents trapped inside."
"We're concerned by the implications that a major impending regime
offensive may have in these areas. We expect many residents to try to flee in
advance of the possible regime and allied militias attack. So we're deeply
concerned about the welfare of these citizens," he remarked.
He added that "... we've long expressed our deep concerns over the regime
and allied militias' efforts to drive sectarian tensions through atrocities."
"We call on all Syrians to resist the temptation of sectarian retributions
and further sectarian violence," he noted.
Furthermore, Ventrell indicated that they have seen reports of a "limited"
number of Iraqi Shia and Sunni militants fighting in Syria, saying "these
movements stoke the violence in Syria and contribute to the suffering of the
Syrian people.
"We continue to call on all of Syria's neighbors to take all possible steps
to prevent the flow of militant fighters into Syria in order to prevent
exacerbating the sectarian aspects of the conflict," he stressed. (end)
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