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DAMASCUS, Feb. 27-- At least 24 civilians were killed Tuesday by fresh U.S.-led airstrikes on areas in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour, state news agency SANA reported. The airstrikes targeted a gathering of displaced people in the Zahrat al-Elwani area in the countryside of Deir al-Zour, said SANA. It added that several people were wounded, some critically, which could lead to a rise in the death toll. On Feb. 25, the U.S.-led airstrikes killed 29 civilians in Deir al-Zour, while last week, 15 civilians there were killed by similar strikes, SANA said. In a statement issued Tuesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry renewed the Syrian government's condemnation of the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition, which has started its operation in Syria in 2017. The ministry said the coalition is committing "massacres" against the Syrian people and supporting the remnants of the Islamic State (IS) militants. It charged that the U.S.-led coalition's only goal is to undermine Syria's sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, and it aims to prolong the Syrian crisis. "The Syrian Arab Republic demands that the Security Council shoulder its responsibility of preserving international peace and security and act immediately to stop the war crimes and the crimes against humanity committed by the coalition against the Syrian people," the ministry said. The ministry also renewed the demand for an end to the "illegal presence of the U.S. forces on Syrian soil." | 
