DAMASCUS, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- A key political and media adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday accused the U.S.-led coalition of seeking to fragment Syria, saying the plan will fail.
In an interview with pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV aired late Thursday, Bouthaina Shaaban said "the targeting of civilians in Raqqa (the de facto capital of the Islamic State group) and the crimes committed against them...is something that sparks questions and it's most likely that the United States is trying to terrorize the Arab citizens in Raqqa into leaving their areas to establish a suitable ground for federalization or the (creation of) Kurdish entity" in northern Syria.
The United States will fail to fragment Syria "because the Syrian people are one," she noted.
Her remarks came as the U.S.-led coalition is throwing a heavy support behind the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is fighting IS in Raqqa.
However, the killing of civilians on a daily basis pushed the Syrian government to condemn the U.S.-led coalition's "crimes" in Raqqa and urge the United Nations to dissolve the coalition.
While the SDF is advancing inside Raqqa, the Syrian army and tribal forces are advancing against the extremists in the countryside, coming close to the last IS-held town in the eastern Raqqa countryside.
The army forces and allied troops have already reclaimed the western and southern countryside of Raqqa.
