Russia, China condemn US airstrikes on Iraq
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Russia and China condemn the US occupation's airstrikes on Iraq as exacerbating regional tensions amid heightened hostilities.
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Members of the Iraqi Resistance attend a funeral for Resistance fighters killed by a US air strike, in Baghdad, Iraq, February 4, 2024 (AP)
Russia and China have accused the United States of intentionally aggravating tensions in the Middle East through targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, as stated by their respective ambassadors during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday.
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, asserted that the US-led airstrikes were deliberately aimed at fueling the existing conflict in the region.
"It's clear that American airstrikes are specifically, deliberately aimed to stoke the conflict," Nebenzia stated, emphasizing concerns about the impact of such actions on the stability of the Middle East.
China's ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, echoed similar sentiments, labeling the recent US attacks against targets in Syria and Iraq as a grave violation of the sovereignty of both nations.
Jun expressed his concern during the UN Security Council meeting, saying, "The recent US airstrikes on multiple locations in Syria and Iraq have cost heavy casualties. Those acts constitute a grave violation of the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Syria and Iraq."
Ambassador Zhang Jun further emphasized that the US actions were likely to exacerbate the ongoing violence in the Middle East, underscoring the potential consequences of such interventions on the region's stability.
Iraq condemns aggression
Following the United States' wide aggression on areas in Iraq and Syria late Saturday, the Security and Defense Committee in the Iraqi parliament said that the US-led coalition forces present in the country are "destabilizing the situation," and called on the government to expedite the reaching of an agreement on their withdrawal.
According to CENTCOM, US forces struck more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria with numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers that were said to have taken off from the United States.
Read more: Hezbollah says US strikes on Syria, Iraq aggravating regional conflict
In Syria, the attacks led to the killing of several civilians and soldiers, injuring others, as well as causing significant material damage, as per a Syrian military statement.
Meanwhile, the US aggression in Iraq resulted in the martyrdom of 16 people, including Iraqi soldiers and civilians.
Iraq government: US forces a source of instability
Separately, the Iraqi government issued a statement warning that the recent US attacks "place the security of Iraq and the region on the brink of the abyss, and contradicts efforts to consolidate stability."
"The presence of the international coalition, which has deviated from its assigned tasks and the mandate given to it, has become a cause for security threats and instability in our country, and is involving Iraq in regional and international conflicts."
Furthermore, it accused "the US of engaging in deception and distorting facts by claiming prior coordination [with Baghdad] before committing this aggression," labeling it a "false claim" aimed at "misleading the international public opinion and shirking legal responsibility for this unacceptable crime."
The US attacks came in response to a Resistance operation that killed three US soldiers and wounded over 40 others in Jordan as regional escalations, the root cause of which are the US and its interventionist policies, in addition to its staunch ally, the Israeli occupation.
