Islam Times - Militants Targeting Army Sites and Some Residential Centers in Idlib

Islam Times - The head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, Major-General Yuri Borenkov, announced that the armed groups in the de-escalation zone in Idlib continue their provocations, and bombard the sites of the Syrian army and some residential centers.

He pointed out that a group of armed men, consisting of 50 individuals backed by armored vehicles and 6 tanks, tried on the evening of January 17 to attack the sites of the Syrian army in the aforementioned area, and managed to penetrate a distance of 1.2 kilometers deep and up to 500 meters across, and the fighting continues throughout the day corresponding to the 18th of January.

He added that the terrorist group is affiliated with the "Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham", whose number of militants exceeds 20,000, as well as foreign mercenaries, and continues to attack the positions of government forces in Aleppo countryside with the aim of undermining the ceasefire regime imposed after the Russian-Turkish agreements.

Borenkov said that during the past day, terrorist groups have bombed 66 times the positions of the Syrian army in the de-escalation zone in Idlib.

He added that due to the aggravation of the situation in the region, the withdrawal of civilians from the areas controlled by armed groups to the Syrian army's control areas was suspended on January 18.

He noted that from November 13, 1,490 people, 63 cars and agricultural transport vehicles left the de-escalation zone.

The Russian Center called on the leaders of armed groups to abandon the provocations and return to the path of a peaceful settlement in the areas under their control and not to prevent the exit of the civilian population through the declared exit crossings.