DAMASCUS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused the U.S.-led coalition of targeting civilians in northern Syria for not joining U.S.-backed forces, according to the state news agency SANA.
The coalition has targeted several towns in the northeastern province of Hasakah, the northern Raqqa province and the eastern province of Deir al-Zour as a punishment to the people for refusing to join the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the ministry said in its statement.
The ministry statement came hours after 10 people were killed in U.S.-led airstrikes on areas in the southern countryside of Hasakah province on Tuesday.
The "massacre" committed by the U.S. coalition is the sixth to take place in the northern region since the beginning of last month, according to SANA.
Meanwhile, the ministry charged that the U.S. is backing the separatist forces in Syria, in reference to the Kurdish-led SDF. It added that the U.S. is also trying to coordinate between IS and the SDF with the aim of undermining the sovereignty of Syria and prolonging the crisis.
The ministry concluded by stating that "there is no moral justification for the aggressive U.S. policies in Syria, the region, and the entire world as it (U.S.) has become an inseparable part of the manufacturing of danger that threatens the international peace and security."
Since starting its operations in Syria in 2014, the Syrian government has accused the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition of undermining the Syrian sovereignty as it started operations in the war-torn country without the consent of the Syrian government.
The coalition has been backing the SDF, a Kurdish-led alliance of Arab and Kurds, in the battles against the Islamic State (IS), with this group capturing important areas from IS.
However, the Syrian government doesn't trust the policies of the U.S. or the intentions of the fighters it's backing in Syria and some skirmishes have been reported recently between the Syrian army and the SDF in Deir al-Zour.
The SDF was waging an offensive on IS on the eastern bank of Euphrates River in Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria but moved the offensive to the southern countryside of Hasakah province after failing to achieve progress in Deir al-Zour.
Government loyalists say the SDF and other Kurdish-led groups are fighting IS and controlling areas in northern Syria to establish an autonomous region, which explains the "separatist" label used by the ministry in its statement Tuesday.
