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September 30, 2023, marked the eighth anniversary of Russia's military intervention in Syria, which officially took place on September 30, 2015, despite media reports referring to it several weeks before.[1] To address the event, media outlets affiliated with the Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) published posters and infographics highlighting the death and destruction inflicted by Russia's intervention.
Below are several posters and infographics.
The HTS-linked Salvation Government in Idlib released an infographic covering Russia's most "prominent violations" in Syria during the past eight years. The infographic claims that the Russians carried out 1,246 attacks against "vital civilian centers," including 360 massacres, 237 using cluster munitions, and 125 using incendiary munitions, resulting in 6,954 victims including 2,066 children and 4.8 million people displaced from their homes. The infographic also depicts Russia's support for the Assad regime, which includes 18 vetoes during a United Nations Security Council resolution in favor of the Assad regime (four before the Russian intervention and 14 after), including six vetoes against investigating the chemical weapons attacks allegedly carried out by Assad and condemnation of his regime, and five instances in which Russia prevented humanitarian aid from entering Syria.[2]
The pro-HTS Murasil Maydani shared a poster, based on data by the Syrian Civil Defense, listing "the victims' [3]toll of eight years of Russian aggression against Syrians." According to the infographic, 12,500 people were killed and injured during Russian attacks and 265 massacres were perpetrated.
Several media outlets mocked the inability of Russia to defeat the rebels.
The pro-HTS Mursail Maydani shared a poster with the hashtag in English "#StopRussia," and another in Arabic, "Stop_The Terror_Of_Russia." The outlet added that during World War II Russia fought the Nazis and Hitler, displaying its "false and fake courage," while "it was unable to resist the heroic Mujahideen in the liberated areas [under the rebels' control]."[4]
The pro-HTS Al-Murasil Al-Askary released a poster titled "Eight Years in Which the Prestige of the Russian Occupation Was Broken," depicting armed and masked rebel fighters and a Russian combat plane in the background.[5]
[1] See MEMRI Report: Media Affiliated With Assad Regime Confirm Reports Of Russian Military Involvement In Syria, September 15, 2023.
[2] Telegram, September 30, 2023.
[3] Telegram, September 30, 2023.
[4] Telegram, September 30, 2023.
[5] Telegram, September 30, 2023.
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