Where Are the Anti-War Protesters Now?

But in the short history of the Russian strikes in Syria, it’s not at all clear that their real impact has been fighting ISIS and protecting civilians. It seems that the majority of Russian airstrikes have targeted moderate rebel groups. John Kirby, US State Department spokesperson, said: “Greater than 90% of the strikes that we’ve seen them take to date have not been against ISIL or Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. They’ve been largely against opposition groups that want a better future for Syria and don’t want to see the Assad regime stay in power.” The contradiction here is not just the fact that Russia is not focusing on targeting ISIS, but also that the targeted groups are fighting against ISIS. Furthermore, ISIS seized five villages in northern Aleppo from rebel groups that have been weakened by Russian airstrikes.