Egypt Daily News – The Russian army announced on Sunday that it is helping Syrian forces “repel” opposition factions in three governorates in the north of the country, as part of Moscow’s support for the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Russian army said in a brief statement on its website, “The Syrian army, with the assistance of the Russian Air Force, continues its operation aimed at repelling the terrorist aggression in the provinces of Idlib, Hama, and Aleppo.”
In turn, the Syrian Ministry of Defense said that the Russian-Syrian strikes killed and wounded dozens of militants in the eastern countryside of Aleppo. It also said that Russian-Syrian bombing destroyed dozens of vehicles and ammunition vehicles for militants in the Idlib countryside.
Russia dismisses the official responsible for its forces in Syria
In addition, Russian military bloggers said on Sunday that Moscow had dismissed Sergei Kisel, the general in charge of its forces in Syria, after opposition fighters invaded the city of Aleppo.
The Raibar channel, which is close to the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the “Military Informant” blog Voiny Osvidomitil reported the dismissal of Kissel, 53 years old. Unconfirmed reports said that Colonel-General Alexander Chiku would replace Kessel. It is noteworthy that Russia is one of Assad’s main allies.
Intense raids
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported earlier that the Syrian army was trying to regain control of towns in Hama with Russian air cover. It added that there were intense Russian raids on “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” sites in Aleppo and its environs.
Meanwhile, Russian aircraft launched raids on areas in the Hama Governorate district, and areas in Aleppo.
The city of Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria, became outside the control of Syrian army on Sunday, after Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and factions allied with it took control of most of the city’s neighborhoods, except for the northern neighborhoods with a Kurdish majority, which are under the influence of Kurdish fighters.
It is noteworthy that the surprise attack launched by the armed factions began last Wednesday, suddenly, while most of the Syrian forces withdrew from Aleppo, the second largest city in the country, knowing that they had tightened their grip on it since 2016, following the defeat of the militants.
