Russian armored vehicles on patrol in Idlib
Russian forces launched airstrikes on areas in northwestern Syria near the border with Turkey. This was reported by Reuters, citing opposition sources and eyewitnesses.
According to them, one of the strikes – near the border crossing on the outskirts of the city of Sarmada in the province of Idlib – was not delivered from an airplane. Another surface-to-surface missile hit a target in the village of Kakh. The opposition claims that the attacks targeted positions close to densely populated cities and camps. It is indicated that this is the first such attack in 2021. There is no data on the number of people killed or wounded.
Earlier in March, it was reported that Russia attacked the Turkish-backed terrorists with an Iskander cruise missile from the Khmeimim airbase.
Russia has been conducting a military operation in Syria since September 2015. The campaign aimed to support the government army and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against terrorists, including the Islamic State (IS, banned in Russia). Its main phase has already ended, now Russian forces are helping the Syrian with strikes on militants, as well as maintaining the ceasefire in Idlib, which is under the control of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS, created on the basis of the Jabhat an -Nusra “). Turkey considers its members to be the opposition and supports, Russia and Syria – terrorists.
On March 5, 2020, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to introduce a ceasefire in Idlib. The parties agreed on an additional protocol, according to the terms of which they created a security corridor along the M4 highway passing through the province. The reason for the talks was a sharp aggravation of the situation in Syria, as a result of which in January-February Turkey lost at least 62 soldiers killed.
