Putin: Terrorists' Chemical Attack in Aleppo Must Not Remain Unpunished
The chemical attack launched by terrorists in western Aleppo should not go unpunished, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"In Syria, where militants continue armed attacks on government forces, a November 24 attack on residents of the western part of Aleppo using chemical poisonous substances, presumably chlorine, was a blatant violation of the ceasefire," Putin said, speaking at a BRICS meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
According to Putin, dozens of Syrians were injured, including children.
"Such terrorists' crimes should not left unpunished, otherwise they will replicate such antics," said Putin.
Putin's statement was made hours after Russian Center for Syrian reconciliation reported that terrorists from the Hayat Tahrir Ash-Sham group (former Nusra Front*) were planning a new provocation with the use of toxic agents in the Idlib de-escalation zone.
The attack which Putin mentioned occurred on November 24, when terrorist groups located in the Idlib de-escalation zone fired 120-millimeter shells at the north-western districts of Aleppo from the south-eastern part of the demilitarized zone, according to the Russian Defence Ministry's Centre for Syrian Reconciliation.
The shells were filled with poisonous substances, and exploded in the vicinity of Nile Street in the Al-Khalidia neighbourhood.
According to medics, aid had been provided to 73 civilians injured in the attack.
Nusra Front* is a terrorist group banned in Russia
Turkish Chemical Weapons Experts Cooperating with Terrorists to Eliminate Evidence of Aleppo Attack
The sources said that Turkey is trying hard to clean up the area's soil and buildings from any poisonous gas residuals before the arrival of a delegation from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the region.
Last week, the Al-Nusra terrorists launched a gas attack on Northwestern neighborhoods of Aleppo city, poisoning 107 civilians.
In the meantime, sources close to the militant groups said the recent gas attack on Aleppo by Tahrir Al-Sham Hayat indicates that Turkey cannot at all control the terrorist group.
The Arabic-language Al-Watan newspaper quoted sources close to Nouralddeen al-Zinki terrorist group as saying that Tahrir al-Sham terrorists were responsible for the chlorine gas attack on residential areas in Aleppo.
"The attacks on Aleppo's residential areas were done by rockets and shells that had been chemically armed by White Helmets," the sources said.
The sources noted that Tahrir al-Sham's chemical attacks were launched from the demilitarized zone specified under the Sochi agreement.
The attacks from the demilitarized zone display that Ankara had no control over the terrorist groups operating in zone, and failed to hold up its end of the bargain.
In a relevant development on Sunday, Syrian Foreign Ministry said that the Aleppo chlorine shelling was made possible because Western countries had been supplying weapons to militants so that they staged chemical attacks.
Damascus went on to call on the United Nations to take measures regarding the militants who attacked Aleppo and the states that were supporting them, Sputnik reported.
Syria's comments came after on Saturday, militants based North of Aleppo fired chlorine-loaded shells at the city's al-Khalidiye neighborhood. Militants also shelled the neighborhoods of al-Khalidiye and Al Zahraa as well as the Nile Street, causing at least 65 people to be delivered to hospitals over difficulties with breathing.
Russian diplomat vows terrorist schemes to derail Idlib agreement bound to fail
Plans of terrorists in Syria to undermine cooperation in the Astana format and derail agreements on Idlib are futile, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday.
"Despite the efforts made by Turkey as part of the implementation of the Russian-Turkish memorandum of September 17,
the situation there [in Idlib] is explosive. Terrorists are doing their best to derail the implementation of measures to delimitate the so-called moderate forces and create a demilitarized zone.
The scale of provocations carried out by them is unfortunately growing," she said.
Zakharova reiterated that on November 24 militants of the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra (outlawed in Russia) carried out a mortar attack on Aleppo’s residential quarters with shells and chlorine, injuring more than 100 people.
"This work was conducted before to provoke the US-led coalition to carry out massive strikes on the government forces,
but now, as we can see, the goal is different: to derail the implementation of the specified Russian-Turkish memorandum and destabilize cooperation in the Astana format, in particular between Russia and Turkey," the diplomat stressed. "Another meeting on Syria in Astana showed that such plans of terrorists are futile."
The international meeting on Syria in Astana ended on Thursday with the adoption of the joint statement of the guarantor states (Russia, Iran and Turkey). In particular, the document confirms the readiness to fully implement the Memorandum on stabilization in Idlib and apply further efforts to launch the Syrian constitutional committee.
Syria Accuses Israel of Supporting Terrorists Following Alleged Air Attack
Earlier, Syrian media reported that the country's air defence forces had downed several "hostile targets" during a suspected Israeli air raid south of Damascus.
The Syrian foreign ministry has sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General and the president of the UN Security Council containing a blistering criticism of the United States and Israel over their regular aggression inside Syrian territory.
Focusing its attention on Friday's US-led coalition attack on the village of al-Safa, which led to the deaths of over 30 civilians, as well as the Israeli air forces' alleged Thursday strikes,
the letter argued that the strikes "clearly reflect the US's disregard for humanitarian values and its confempt for international law."
"The creation of the US coalition is completely contrary to the principles and foundations of international law," the letter, cited by the Ikhbariya TV channel, said. "These repeated attacks continue the episodic aggression against the sovereignty, unity and security of Syrian territory, and their goals are similar to regular Israeli attacks, the last of which was carried out over the al-Kiswah area south of Damascus.
This is just another piece of evidence that Israel supports terrorist groups and is trying to prolong the conflict in Syria."
"Syria condemns these crimes and repeated acts of aggression and calls on the UN Security Council to take immediate measures to end and condemn them," the letter stressed.
Earlier, a high ranking Syrian security source
told Sputnik that Syrian air defences had downed several aerial targets attacking Syrian territory about 40 km southwest of Damascus on Thursday night. Initial reports suggested that an Israeli warplane had been shot down during the strikes. These were later refuted. The Israeli military denied that one of its planes had been hit, and denied allegations of staging an attack. Eyewitnesses have since published
video footage of Syrian anti-aircraft missiles appearing to intercept approaching missiles in the skies outside Damascus.
Military Source Rejects Operating S300 Air Defense System by Syrian Army to Counter Recent Raids
The Arabic-language website of Sputnik quoted the high-ranking sources as reporting that the air defense units intercepted most of the enemy's intruding missiles
without using S300 air defense missile system last night.
It went on to say that
advanced SAM missiles and other types of high precise air defense weapons were used to intercept the intruding missiles.
The army's air defense units counter a fresh heavy wave of air attacks over Quneitra, Southwestern Damascus and Western Dara'a, intercepting most of the missiles.
On September 17, the Russian Il-20 aircraft with 15 servicemen on board vanished from radar screens near Humeimim Airbase in Syria. According to the Russian ministry of defense, the disappearance coincided with an attack by four Israeli F-16 military jets on Syrian targets in the province of Lattakia.
The defense ministry stressed that the Israeli Air Force used the Russian reconnaissance plane as a cover, thus subjecting it to an attack by the Syrian air defenses, with a Syrian S-200 surface-to-air missile hitting the Russian Il-20 while trying to repel Israeli strikes. Israel, for its part, insisted that Syria was responsible for the downing and that by the time the plane was destroyed, the four F-16 were already on their way home.
US Coalition Strike Kills Over 30 Civilians in Deir ez-Zor - Syrian State Media
Damascus has repeatedly accused the US-led coalition of causing civilian casualties while conducting aerial operations in Syria.
Syrian state television has reported that over 30 civilians had been killed as a result of a US-led coalition airstrike on a village in the Deir ez-Zor province.
CENTCOM has yet to comment on the accusations, while the reported strike comes just two days after Syrian media accused the US-led coalition of
killing at least 6 civilians in the town of Hajin in the Deir ez-Zor province.
Over the past several months, the Syrian state media have been accusing the coalition of causing civilian casualties, while conducting aerial operations in the region of Deir ez-Zor.
While neither confirming nor denying information about casualties in its latest airstrikes, the coalition has earlier
admitted conducting operations in the area.
The US-led coalition has been conducting its operations in Syria since 2014, without either Damascus' approval or a UN mandate.
Large US military convoy enters Syria amid increased tensions with Turkey over SDF support (video)
A large U.S. military convoy entered Syria this week to deliver weapons and armored vehicles to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
According to reports, the U.S. military was delivering these weapons to the Syrian Democratic Forces’ units that are currently combating the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) in the Deir Ezzor province.
The delivery of these weapons to the SDF has been the source of turmoil between Washington and Ankara, as Turkey views the U.S. Coalition’s equipping of the Kurdish forces in Syria as form of support to terrorists.
The Syrian Democratic Forces have been involved in a fierce battle with the Daesh terrorists for several months in the Hajin region of southeast Deir Ezzor.
Daesh has refused to concede their last positions east of the Euphrates; this has forced the SDF to try and eliminate the terrorist group’s pocket, despite the fact they are deeply entrenched near the key town of Hajin.
Turkey sends large military convoy to Hama as Syrian Army builds up forces
Turkey has sent a large military convoy to the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate, opposition activists in nearby Idlib reported via social media on Friday.
According to the reports, the Turkish military convoy consisted of several trucks and heavily armored vehicles.
The Turkish military convoy reportedly made their way to the observation posts in the northern Hama towns of Morek and Sheir Magher.
This move by the Turkish military comes just days after the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) sent a large convoy of reinforcements to the front-lines in the Idlib, Latakia, and Hama provinces.
In particular, the Syrian Arab Army sent the entire 5th Legion to the Idlib-Hama axis, while also deploying several units from the 4th Armored Division, including their elite 42nd Brigade (Ghiath Forces), to northeastern countryside of Latakia.
The Syrian Arab Army is preparing for a new operation near the strategic Abu Dhuhour Airport; this will be their first offensive in southeast Idlib since 2017.
Syrian Army’s 5th Legion heads to battle in Idlib (video)
The entire 5th Legion made their way from southern Syria to the Idlib-Hama axis this week, a military source told Al-Masdar News on Thursday.
According to the military source, the entire 5th Legion received orders on Tuesday from the Syrian Arab Army’s High Command about their redeployment to the Idlib and Hama provinces.
Some of the 5th Legion troops will be carrying out a new operation in the northern countryside of Hama, while their other units will assist the Tiger Forces in their upcoming operation in southeast Idlib.
The 5th Legion was formed shortly after the arrival of the Russian military in 2015; they have been mainly deployed near the Islamic State’s (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) lines.
In the past, they have participated in the offensives in the Palmyra, Al-Sukhneh, Deir Ezzor, Dara’a, and Al-Safa offensives.
Below is a video showing the 5th Legion heading to the battlefront in Idlib:
