Russian warplanes bomb de-escalation zone in NW Syria
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Russian warplanes launched on Wednesday airstrikes on the countryside of Idlib and Hama in the de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria in tandem with ongoing mutual shelling between the Syrian government forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front).
Pro-opposition media outlets reported that Russian warplanes bombed the outskirts of the village of al-Haluba in Zawiya Mountain in the south of Idlib, and the outskirts of the town of al-Enkawi in the west of Hama.
On the other hand, the government forces shelled the outskirts of the villages of Kafr Amma and Kafr Taal in the western countryside of Aleppo. No information were reported about human losses.
In a related context, media outlets of the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), announced the killing of a soldier of the government forces in an attack on their posts in the village of al-Malaja in the south of Idlib.
On Tuesday, a military commander in the National Front for Liberation, affiliated with the SNA, told North Press that the government forces launched attacks on the city of Jisr al-Shughur in the west of Idlib. The attacks resulted in the injury of 10 people, including children and women.
The de-escalation zone in northwest Syria witnesses mutual bombardment between parties to the conflict, in addition to Russian airstrikes from time to time. The Syrian government rarely comments on the military developments on the ground.
Although the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria is subject to a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement signed in March 2020, the area witnesses frequent mutual bombardment despite the entry of the ceasefire into force.
In March 2020, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Moscow that stipulated a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor, and the conduct of joint patrols on the M4/Aleppo-Latakia Highway.