Further terrorist attacks in Idlib

‘Russian, Turkish military specialists among hundreds killed & injured in Syria’s Idlib terrorist attacks – Moscow’, 6 Feb, 2020

“Terrorists took over the Idlib de-escalation zone and carried out thousands of attacks in the last two months, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the West is portraying them as “moderate opposition.”

Idlib governorate, the last stronghold of anti-government forces in Syria, saw a surge of violence by radical jihadists who have no desire for a peaceful resolution to the almost nine-year-long conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Most of the attacks are carried out by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the latest iteration of al-Qaeda in Syria.

The area was proclaimed a de-escalation zone under the Russia-Turkey agreements. In mid-January, Russian and Turkish forces tried to impose a ‘regime of silence’ there, but the attacks only escalated.” [snip]

““The relocation of some armed groups out of the de-escalation zone to northeastern Syria and later to Libya has boosted the concentration of radical extremists over the boiling point,” the ministry said.

This situation was recently discussed during an interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He explained that Turkey needed to separate the armed opposition it is working with from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists, saying that it has failed to do so.” ‘snip]

“Moscow stressed that the jihadists, who hold hostage residents of the areas they control in Idlib, remain a legitimate target for military action, especially considering that the governorate is under Syrian sovereignty.”

”Earlier this week, following the Turkish-Syrian clash, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the “ruthless actions” of the “Assad regime” and Russia (as well as Iran and Hezbollah) for “preventing the establishment of a ceasefire.”

Satire alert ahead!