MOSCOW. Dec 11 (Interfax) - The humanitarian catastrophe in al-Raqqah has lasted a year due to the United States' inactivity, according to Russian National Defense Control Center head Lt. Col. Mikhail Mizintsev.
"Al-Raqqah, which has been going through a humanitarian catastrophe for a year amid the silent inactivity of the United States, is another festering wound on Syria's long-suffering body. The city has been practically wiped out. Large-scale demining has yet to begin. As a result, explosive devices kill or cripple local residents every day," Mizintsev said at a meeting of the Russian-Syrian interagency taskforce promoting the return of Syrian refugees.
Homes and infrastructure are not being rebuilt, there is no power or water supply, and shops and hospitals are closed. Many bodies remain under the debris, which increases the risk of epidemics, he said.
"This stance of the United States indicates that it has absolutely no interest in normalizing the situation in the regions under its control," Mizintsev said.