MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/.
Russia calls on the international community to make a proper assessment of the terrorist attack against a convoy carrying internally displaced persons in the suburb of Aleppo on April 15, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
"We strongly condemn the barbaric terrorist attack against the convoy with refugees, " the ministry said. "We believe that this crime should be duly appraised by all international community members."
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The Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that the implementation of an agreement on transporting members of illegal armed groups and members of their families from the cities of Madaya and Zabadani, Damascus province, and Shiite militiamen and their families from the villages of al-Fu’ah and Kafraya, Idlib province, surrounded by the al-Nusra (terror group, outlawed in Russia - TASS) and Ahrar al-Sham began last week. The ministry noted that the Syrian government strictly fulfilled its obligations under this agreement brokered by Qatar and Iran.
"As for al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, the evacuation from al-Fu’ah and Kafraya they were responsible for proceeded very slowly and with disruptions," the Russian Foreign Ministry added. "The convoy came under mortar fire at the initial stage and then was stopped literally a few kilometers away from the government forces’ checkpoint. That was when the tragedy occurred."
The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Russia would push ahead with its efforts to fight against terrorism in Syria and help those Syrians who are ready to support this fight and seek a negotiated settlement to the Syrian conflict.
An explosion occurred on Saturday evening at a transfer point in Aleppo’s al-Rashidin suburb where a bus convoy carrying evacuated residents from two Shiite villages of al-Fu’ah and Kafraya in Syria’s Idlib province stopped. The terrorists blew up explosives in a pickup truck that delivered food to refugees. The bomb exploded close to a gas station, which triggered an extensive fire. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the terrorist attack has killed more than 130 people, including 68 children.