Russian-Turkish joint patrol conducted amid shelling on Syria’s northwestern Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, Russian and Turkish forces conducted a joint patrol on the M4 highway in Idlib, amid mutual shelling between Syrian government forces and Turkish-backed armed opposition groups in the countryside of Idlib and Hama.
This was preceded by the deployment of Turkish forces along the road, to protect the convoy. Last month, a roadside bomb planted by Turkish-backed opposition armed groups detonated near a joint Russian-Turkish patrol in northern Syria, injuring three Russian soldiers. Russia called off the patrol following the blast near the town of Ariha in Idlib province, which damaged one Russian and one Turkish armored personnel carrier.
Turkey’s defense ministry later said two vehicles were partially damaged as a result of a car bomb and that no one was killed.
At midnight on Tuesday-Wednesday, there was an escalation in artillery and missile strikes between the Fateh al-Mubin factions and Syrian government forces, as government forces bombed areas in the villages of Idlib countryside and the northwestern countryside of Hama.
This was preceded by the government forces' shelling with artillery and rocket launchers on areas in the villages of southeast of Idlib, which included several Turkish military points, and the bombing also affected the villages of the southern countryside of Idlib.
The opposition factions affiliated with the Fateh al-Mubin operations room responded with artillery shelling targeting government forces' positions in the southern and southeastern countryside of Idlib in conjunction with the deployment of Turkish forces in the areas of southeast Idlib.
The factions also targeted a gathering of infantry from the government forces in the vicinity of the village of Dadikh, amid information about casualties among them.
In addition, opposition factions sent military reinforcements to the front lines in the Latakia and Idlib countryside in the Fateh al-Mubin operations room.
The mutual shelling between Fateh al-Mubin operations room and Syrian government forces caused a wave of displacement witnessed by some villages in the southern countryside of Idlib, leading locals to fear future military operations in the region.
(Reporting by Mohammed Khier)