Russian Jets Strike Syrian Opposition-Held Bastion in Heaviest Strikes since Ceasefire

Smoke billows following a reported Russian airstrike on the western outskirts of the mostly opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib, on September 20, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP)
Smoke billows following a reported Russian airstrike on the western outskirts of the mostly opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib, on September 20, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP)
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Russian Jets Strike Syrian Opposition-Held Bastion in Heaviest Strikes since Ceasefire

Smoke billows following a reported Russian airstrike on the western outskirts of the mostly opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib, on September 20, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP)
Smoke billows following a reported Russian airstrike on the western outskirts of the mostly opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib, on September 20, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP)

Syrian opposition sources said Russian jets bombed northwestern Syria on Sunday in the most extensive strikes since a Turkish-Russian deal halted major fighting with a ceasefire nearly six months ago.

Witnesses said the warplanes struck the western outskirts of Idlib city and that there was heavy artillery shelling in the mountainous Jabal al Zawya region in southern Idlib from nearby Syrian army outposts. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

"These 30 raids are by far the heaviest strikes so far since the ceasefire deal," said Mohammed Rasheed, a former opposition official and a volunteer plane spotter whose network covers the
Russian air base in the western coastal province of Latakia.

Other tracking centers said Russian Sukhoi jets hit the Horsh area and Arab Said town, west of the city of Idlib.

Unidentified drones also hit two opposition-held towns in the Sahel al-Ghab plain, west of Hama province.

There has been no wide-scale aerial bombing since a March agreement ended a Russian-backed bombing campaign that displaced over a million people in the region which borders Turkey after months of fighting.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.