Monitoring Desk
MOSCOW: Since the downing of its Su-25 fighter jet on Saturday, Russia has intensified airstrikes on Idlib in northwestern Syria, already the site of numerous airstrikes leading to dozens of casualties in an area supposed to be free from attacks.
Intensive airstrikes are striking the area in Idlib where the jet was shot down, according to a Russian Defense Ministry statement.
It said 30 militants were initially confirmed killed, claiming they were members of the Al-Nusra group.
Viktor Vodolatsky, a deputy of the Russian State Duma, said Assad regime special forces are conducting an operation in the area where the jet was shot down with Russian air support.
On Saturday, a Russian Su-25 fighter jet was shot down while flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone and the pilot lost his life.
Over the last week — including before the downing of the jet — dozens of civilians have lost their lives, and hospitals, mosques, residential areas, and refugee camps have been targeted in airstrikes by Russian jets and Assad forces in the Idlib de-escalation zone.
Located in northern Syria near the Turkish border, the Idlib province was declared a de-escalation zone.
In the de-escalation zones — endorsed by Turkey, Russia and Iran — acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
Controlled by anti-regime armed groups, the province has been under intense airstrikes for the last two months.
In January alone, 211 civilians were killed and 1,447 wounded.
Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
While UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, Syrian regime officials say the death toll is closer to 10,000.
Meanwhile, Syria’s Assad regime, backed up by Russian fighter jets and the Daesh terrorist group, have seized over 3,000 square kilometers of opposition-held territory in southern and southeastern Idlib within the last three months, according to measurements carried out by Anadolu Agency.
Regime forces secured eastern Hama in October of last year, allowing Daesh terrorists to enter several parts of Idlib, which is held by opposition forces and armed anti-regime groups.
Operating in coordination, both Daesh and Assad regime forces have advanced far into Idlib following three months of intensive Russian airstrikes on opposition positions.
According to cartographical measurements conducted by Anadolu Agency, regime forces have seized roughly 3,035 square kilometers in eastern and southeastern Idlib, leaving Daesh in control of over 100 villages in the area.
Such actions on the part of the Assad regime constitute blatant violations of a cease-fire agreement endorsed by Ankara, Moscow and Tehran during earlier peace talks held in Kazakh capital Astana.
While both Daesh and Assad regime forces advance into southeastern Idlib, Russian fighter jets continue to pound opposition-held positions in the region.
Located in northern Syria near the border with Turkey, Idlib falls squarely within a network of de-escalation zones — guaranteed by Turkey, Russia and Iran — in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
Held largely by armed anti-regime groups, the province has remained the target of fierce airstrikes for the last three months.
