US releases video showing Russian jets troubling US drone over Syria

The US military on Wednesday (July 5) released a video which it said showed Russian fighter jets harassing American military drones during an operation targetting Islamic State (ISIS). The military has said that this is the second such incidentto have taken place this year. The US Air Force released drone video footage which has captured the incident. The incident highlights the escalating tensions between the two countries.

A statement was issued on Wednesday by Lieutenant General Alexus G. Grynkewich, commander of the Ninth Air Force. Three MQ-9 Reaper drones were engaged by three Russian fighter jets "in actions that violate established norms and protocols," said the statement, as quoted by Reuters.

"These events represent another example of unprofessional and unsafe actions by Russian air forceoperating in Syria, which threaten the safety of both US and Russian forces," Grynkewich said, calling on Moscow to "cease this reckless behaviour."

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The Pentagon had released a video in March depictinga collision between a Russian fighter jet and a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace. The collision had caused the drone to crash into the Black Sea.

The MQ-9 Reaper drone, which is primarily deployed for intelligence gathering, can be armed with up to eight laser-guided Hellfire missiles, underscoring the risk of these confrontations.

UN urges extension of Syria cross-border aid mechanism

An official of the United Nations visited Syria's Idlib on Tuesday and urged a 12-month extension of a cross-border aid mechanism to rebel-held, quake-hit region. The appeal has come just days before the current six-month arrangement is due to expire.

"There is no substitute in size and scope to the UN cross-border resolution if we want to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people in northwest Syria," said David Carden, the United Nations deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis.

"It's a joint message that you're hearing from the UN, the NGOs and the communities themselves in northwest Syria about the need for a 12-month renewal of the cross-border resolution," he told a press conference at a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Sarmada.

The mechanism is renewed by a vote of the Security Council. It allows vital UN assistance to reach people living in rebel-held northwest Syria without navigating areas controlled by government forces.

It was renewed in January and is set to expire on July 10.

Carden underlined the need for a 12-month extension and said such an extension will "ensure that aid will continue to flow during the desperate winter months. It will ensure that early recovery programmes can be implemented."

(With inputs from agencies)

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