Russian Su-25 attack aircraft take off from the Khmeimim airbase in Syria © Dmitriy Vinogradov / Sputnik
Russia will continue high-precision airstrikes on the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib until it destroys all militants that stage provocations there, Deputy Head of Russia’s Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov said on June 28.
“The Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides calls on the illegal armed groups to stop shelling the positions of the Syrian government forces and civilian infrastructure. Otherwise, high-precision airstrikes will continue until the militants involved in the provocations are completely eliminated,” Gurinov said, according to TASS.
The commander went on to reveal that the Russian airstrikes that targeted the outskirts of the town of Sharjah in the southern Idlib countryside on June 27 were carried out to prevent “illegal armed groups” from launching drone attacks against government-held towns and villages in Idlib and the neighboring governorate of Lattakia.
The airstrikes destroyed a command post as well as a weapons and ammunition depot, Gurinov said, adding that 18 militants were also killed.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense released earlier on June 28 video footage of the high-precision airstrikes, which reportedly targeted a stronghold of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The terrorist group is the de-facto ruler of Greater Idlib. Last week, the group and its allies launched a series of drone attacks that killed five civilians, including two women and two children, in government-held towns and villages in Lattakia and the governorate of Hama.
The recent attacks were a blatant violation of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than three years ago.
Gurinov’s warning indicates that the Russian military group in Syria is determined to enforce the ceasefire. Despite sustaining heavy human and material losses as a result of the last wave of airstrikes, HTS and its allies will likely escalate further. This could lead to a new confrontation in Greater Idlib, where Turkish forces are still present.
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