(Zaman Al Wasl)- At least eleven people were killed Sunday in Russian and regime air strikes on the last rebel stronghold in northern Syria where Bashar al-Assad's forces made rapid advances this week.
Five people, including two brothers were killed in air strikes hit the town of Kafr Nouran west of Aleppo city, According to Zaman al-Wasl reporter.
Two more civilians have been killed in barrel bombs attacks on the town of Atareb south of Aleppo while three displaced people were killed in the village of al-Sheikh Ali west of Aleppo.
Syrian army missiles killed one person and wounded nine more in the city of Jisr al-Shughour west of Idlib.
Syrian regime forces have recaptured more than 600 square kilometers of territory so far in a campaign to seize control of the last rebel strongholds of Idlib and the Aleppo countryside, a statement from Syria’s armed forces said on Sunday.
Zaman al-Wasl reporter said the regime forces on Sunday have taken control of 11 villages including the village of al-Eis and its strategic hill just east of the M5.
The weekslong regime offensive has created a humanitarian crisis with about 600,000 people fleeing their homes in Syria's last rebel stronghold since the beginning of December, according to the United Nations.
Also in Idlib, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army has mobilized 10,000 fighters to join the Turkish army in the planned military operation in Idlib if regime forces refused to pull back from the newly-captured territory in the northern province, military source told Zaman al-Wasl.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Wednesday to drive back Syrian regime troops in Idlib unless they withdraw by the end of the month to stem an assault, which he said had displaced nearly 1 million people.
About 1240 Turkish vehicles carrying tanks and armors entered Syria in a week to be the latest reinforcements sent in by Ankara amid a Syrian regime offensive brought the two countries' troops into a rare direct confrontation.
Also about 5000 Turkish soldiers have been deployed, including 500 elite forces.
Last Monday, shelling by regime forces killed eight Turkish military personnel, prompting Turkish forces to strike back. The escalation raised concerns over future collaboration between Ankara and Moscow, which have backed opposing sides in the war despite joint efforts to ease the violence.
Erdogan said two of Turkey's 12 observation posts, set up around a "de-escalation zone" in northwest Syria's Idlib region as part of a 2017 agreement with Russia and Iran, were now behind Syrian regime front lines.
The source the Syrian rebels have obtained TOW missiles, canons and ammunition.
(Zaman Al Wasl with Agencies)
Zaman Al Wasl
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.