Syrian opposition fighters and regime forces clashed in northern Syria in their "fiercest" exchanges since a demilitarized zone deal was announced between Moscow and Ankara for the area last month.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday that the exchange of fire between opposition factions and regime forces was recorded in the countryside of western Aleppo and the western part of the city.
A 15 to 20-kilometer wide "demilitarized zone" was announced by Turkey and Russia on September 17 to separate regime forces from the opposition in their last major bastion in Idlib province and adjacent areas.
Shelling has continued intermittently, however, and escalated dramatically late on Wednesday, the Observatory said.
"It was the fiercest shelling yet since September 17," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based monitoring group.
The exchange of fire comes few days before a planned four-way summit on Syria in Istanbul next Saturday. The summit is expected to be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The four leaders would discuss the situation in the province of Idlib, in addition to the political process in Syria.
Separately, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin said at a plenary session of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on security Thursday the drones that attacked Russia’s Hmeimim airbase in Syria were operated from the US Poseidon-8 reconnaissance plane.
"Thirteen drones moved according to common combat battle deployment, operated by a single crew. During all this time the American Poseidon-8 reconnaissance plane patrolled the Mediterranean Sea area for eight hours," he said.
Meanwhile, conflicting reports emerged concerning the killing of Colonel Monther Mahmoud Ashqar, who heads the chemical weapons warehouses at Battalion 105 of the Syrian Republican Guards, and his wife Rabia Asifouri on Wednesday night.
According to the Observatory, some reports said the Colonel was targeted and others said he died in a traffic accident while he was moving in the capital.
