Russia has raised its military alert status in the face of threats of illegal armed groups in the Syrian region of Idlib following Turkey's announcement of the start of a military operation in the Arab country.
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“In view of the Turkish government's statements on the launch of a new military operation in the north of the Syrian Arab Republic, an intensification of the activity of illegal armed groups is observed in the Idlib de-escalation zone to aggravate the situation,” Deputy Director of the Russian Defense Ministry's Reconciliation Center Oleg Zhuravliov said on Sunday.
According to the official's statements, members of the Al-Nusra Front (self-proclaimed Fath Al-Sham Front) terrorist group carried out 12 attacks in the Idlib de-escalation zone in just one day. Six were carried out in the province of the same name in northwestern Syria and as many in Aleppo province, in which two Syrian servicemen were wounded.
#Russia urges #Turkey to “refrain” from launching an offensive operation in Northern #Syria to avoid “provoking an additional escalation of tensions” in the country, after Ankara announced launching a military campaign targeting Kurdish “terrorists”.https://t.co/ZV6me6hIxo
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) June 2, 2022
On May 30, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a plan to attack Northern Syria with the alleged purpose of “eradicating from the area the Kurdish militias of the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), groups that Ankara considers to be terrorists.
For its part, the Syrian government, headed by Bashar al-Assad, has repeatedly branded the Turkish presence in its territory as an “occupation”.
Syria has also warned U.S. troops stationed in Northeastern Syria not to provide any false excuse to the Turkish regime to justify its colonial policies and plans in Syrian territory, while urging the United Nations (UN) and its member countries to take strong measures in the face of Turkiye's dangerous project.