Damascus to Consider Raqqa Occupied Until Syrian Gov't Controls City – Reports

BEIRUT (Sputnik) — Syria considers, and will consider, Raqqa an occupied city until it comes under the control of the Syrian army, the SANA news agency reported Sunday citing an official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry.

According to the source, misleading claims by the US-led coalition about the city’s liberation from Daesh was aimed at dividing the opinion of the international community from the crimes the coalition and its allies allegedly committed in Raqqa province.

The spokesman added that the statements made by the US authorities, including the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department, about the crucial role of the Raqqa's liberation in the struggle against the terrorists and the contribution of the US-led coalition to this fight, also could puzzle.

The SDF announced on October 20 announced that they had fully cleared Raqqa from Daesh with the support of the US. The US-led alliance confirmed this report a few hours later and President Donald Trump called the operation to free the city a "critical breakthrough" and claimed that a "transition into a new phase" would follow it.

The city of Raqqa has been the capital of the self-proclaimed Daesh "caliphate" in Syria for four years. In early June the SDF and the anti-Daesh coalition launched an operation to liberate the city.

READ MORE: Raqqa's Liberation Marred By Reports That US Evacuated Daesh Leaders

Russia has been taking numerous steps to resolve the Syrian conflict which began in 2011.