BEIRUT: Activists and a war monitoring group say Syrian government and Russian warplanes have targeted the southern edge of Idlib province with a series of airstrikes, ratcheting up the military pressure on the densely populated rebel-held bastion.
The intense air raids come a day after Iran and Russia backed a military campaign in the rebel-held area despite Turkey’s pleas for a cease-fire. Turkey has troops and observations points that ring Idlib.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported more than 30 air raids Saturday on a number of towns and villages in southwestern Idlib and adjacent northern Hama province, an area targeted over the last few days and that overlooks government-controlled areas.
Schools were shut in Khan Sheikhoun, an area under attack, because of the raids, the Observatory reported.
Elsewhere, clashes between Kurdish forces and regime fighters in the divided northeastern city of Qamishli killed 18 combatants, the Kurdish forces and a war monitor said.
The rare flare-up in the Kurdish-majority city near the Turkish border saw 11 regime fighters and seven Kurds killed, the Kurdish security forces known as Asayesh said in a statement.
The Observatory reported the same death toll for the fighting near a Kurdish checkpoint in the city.
The Asayesh said a regime “patrol opened fire on our forces with light and medium weapons, causing our forces to respond to this violation, which killed 11 regime fighters... and seven of our comrades”.
The Observatory said the shootout started when Asayesh members at the checkpoint asked regime fighters aboard a patrol vehicle to step out but they refused.
“When they did not comply, the shooting started on the car,” Observatory chief Rami Abdelrahman said, and the clashes escalated after both sides called in reinforcements.
An AFP correspondent at the scene saw empty camouflaged pick-up trucks in the street.
Some bore bullet holes, while traces of blood were visible on the tarmac, he said.
Kurdish forces control most of Qamishli, but regime forces and allied militiamen hold part of the city and its airport.
Deadly clashes last broke out between Kurdish forces and pro-regime fighters in Qamishli in April 2016, but ended days later with a truce.
That fighting began with a scuffle at a checkpoint and, according to Kurdish security forces, killed 17 civilians, 10 Kurdish fighters and 31 regime troops and militia.
With US-led support, Syria's Kurds played a prominent role in the war against Daesh during which they seized large swathes of northern and northeastern Syria where they have set up automous institutions.
The Damascus regime has vowed to reintegrate the Kurdish-held areas, by force if necessary.
In late July, it opened talks with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on a negotiated settlement.
Intense air raids on edge of Syria’s rebel-held Idlib
Intense air raids on edge of Syria’s rebel-held Idlib
- Schools were shut in Khan Sheikhoun, an area under attack, because of the raids
- Elsewhere, Syrian Kurdish forces said they clashed with regime fighters in the divided northeastern city of Qamishli
Sudan paramilitary advances near Ethiopia border
- Sudan’s Kordofan region, where the SPLM-N has its other foothold in the Nuba Mountains, is currently the war’s fiercest battleground
KHARTOUM: Sudanese paramilitary forces have advanced on army positions near the southeastern border with Ethiopia, according to the group and an eyewitness who spoke to AFP Wednesday.
Control over Sudan’s southeastern Blue Nile State, bordering both Ethiopia and South Sudan, is split between the army and a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, allies of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
In a statement released Tuesday, the SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu, said they had “liberated the strategic city of Deim Mansour and areas of Bashir Nuqu and Khor Al-Budi.”
Since April 2023, the Sudanese army has been at war with the RSF. In February of last year, the RSF announced a surprise alliance with the SPLM-N, securing experienced fighters, land and border access.
Deim Mansour lies between the SPLM-N stronghold Yabus, birthplace of their deputy commander Joseph Tuka, and the army-held town of Kurmuk, which hosts a large army contingent.
Babiker Khaled, who fled to Kurmuk, told AFP that SPLM-N fighters began amassing in the forests around Deim Mansour on Sunday.
“The shelling began on Monday, they entered the city on Tuesday,” he said, adding that “some people fled into Ethiopia, others arrived in Kurmuk.”
From its foothold in the southern Blue Nile, a thin strip of land jutting south between Ethiopia and South Sudan, the SPLM-N maintains reported supply lines from both countries, building on decades-old links.
Close to three years of war in Sudan have left tens of thousands dead and around 11 million displaced, creating the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
It has also torn the country apart, with the army holding the center, north and east of Sudan while the RSF and its allies dominate the west and parts of the south.
Sudan’s Kordofan region, where the SPLM-N has its other foothold in the Nuba Mountains, is currently the war’s fiercest battleground.
On Tuesday, the army broke a paramilitary siege on South Kordofan state capital Kadugli, days after breaking another on the nearby city of Dilling.
