BEIRUT: Syrian and Russian forces have launched air strikes on rebel bases in the country’s northwest, the defense ministry said Wednesday, amid a weeklong uptick in deadly violence in the area.
Syrian forces “in cooperation with the friendly Russian forces carried out precision... air and missile strikes targeting the fortified bases of terrorist organizations” in the Idlib region, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.
The operation came “in response to daily and repeated attacks... on civilians” in residential areas in nearby Hama province, it added.
The bases, which contained weapons, ammunition and drones, were “totally destroyed,” according to the statement.
It did not specify the date of the bombardment, but the announcement came a day after Russian air strikes killed eight fighters affiliated with jihadist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which controls rebel-held Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Despite periodic clashes, a cease-fire deal brokered by regime ally Moscow and rebel-backer Ankara has largely held in northwest Syria since March 2020.
But the Britain-based Observatory war monitor said the Idlib region, Syria’s last opposition bastion, and nearby areas have witnessed an increase in attacks in recent days.
Sixteen civilians and 13 fighters have been killed in attacks by the Syrian regime and Russian forces on Idlib in the past week alone, according to the monitor.
Artillery and drone attacks by the jihadists on regime-held areas have killed six civilians including three children and a soldier in the same period, it added.
On Sunday, Russian air strikes killed at least 13 people in Idlib, in what the Observatory said was the deadliest attack in Syria this year.
At least nine civilians, including two children, were among the dead — six of them killed at a fruit and vegetable market in Jisr Al-Shughur.
In regime areas, one civilian was killed in a drone strike near the Latakia province village of Qardaha, where the family of President Bashar Assad hails from, according to the Observatory.
Syria’s 12-year war broke out after Assad’s repression of peaceful anti-government demonstrations escalated into a deadly conflict that pulled in foreign powers and global jihadists.
The war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions.
Rebel-held Idlib region is home to about three million people, around half of them displaced.
Air strikes hit rebels base in northwest Syria: ministry
https://arab.news/4843x
Air strikes hit rebels base in northwest Syria: ministry
- 16 civilians,13 fighters have been killed in attacks by the Syrian regime and Russian forces on Idlib this week alone
Abbas reiterates opposition to displacement of Palestinians
- During Moscow talks, president calls for immediate halt to Israeli acts of terror
- Historically, Russia has supported and stood by the Palestinian people at political and diplomatic levels
MOSCOW: The Palestinian National Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated his opposition to all attempts to displace Palestinian people from their land.
Speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the presidential palace in Moscow, Abbas was reported by the Kremlin’s official website as saying that “the Palestinian people are holding on to their land, and we categorically oppose attempts by the Americans and Israelis to expatriate Palestinians beyond Palestinian territory.”
He said the Palestinian people “will not abandon their land, whatever the cost.” Abbas stressed the need to fully implement US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, leading to the withdrawal of occupation forces and the launch of the reconstruction process.
He emphasized that the Palestinian Authority would assume a central role in administering the Gaza Strip, and that the enclave and the West Bank constituted two parts of a single territorial unit, with a unified and undifferentiated system of civilian institutions.
He stressed the need for an immediate halt to “Israeli settler colonialism and Israeli acts of terror in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, along with the release of withheld Palestinian funds and the cessation of all measures that undermined the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to continue the struggle for the realization of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and of their right to a fully sovereign, independent state based on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, while living in security and peace with neighbors.
He told Putin: “What we need is peace, and we hope that with your help and support, we can achieve it — a peace built on the basis of international legal resolutions, decisions of the United Nations, and the principles established following the wars of 1967 and 1973.
“East Jerusalem remains the capital of Palestine, and we know that Russia has always supported — indeed, was the first to support — Palestine, maintaining a firm stance in support of our people.”
Abbas thanked his Russian counterpart for Moscow’s support and commended the bilateral “bonds of friendship” between both countries. He added: “We are friends of Russia and the Russian people. For over 50 years our nations have been bound by a strong friendship that has developed over the decades and continues on the correct path. Russia is a great friend and a nation upon which we rely in many spheres.
“Historically, Russia has supported and stood by the Palestinian people at political and diplomatic levels. Your economic and financial support is both significant in scale and crucial in importance.”
Abbas emphasized moving forward with the implementation of a comprehensive national reform program aimed at consolidating the rule of law, strengthening the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability, and ensuring the separation of powers.
Putin affirmed Moscow’s “principled and consistent approach” to the Palestinian question.
He said: “We believe that only the establishment and full functioning of the Palestinian state can lead to a lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict.”
