Syria: pro-Turkish fighters targeted by Russian raids in Afrin region

The funeral of one of the fighters of the pro-Turkish Syrian rebel group of the al-Hamza Brigade, killed in Russian air raids, in the Muhamadiya camp, in the region of Afrin, in northwestern Syria, September 26, 2021. AFP - RAMI AL SAYED

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In Syria, at least eleven fighters from a pro-Turkish Syrian group were killed and thirteen others were wounded on Sunday in Russian raids on the region of Afrin (north) controlled by Turkey and its proxy militias, according to the 'Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). 

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With our correspondent in Beirut, 

Paul Khalifeh

The Russian fighter-bombers carried out this Sunday ten strikes on a school serving as a permanence and training center for the al-Hamza brigade, near Turkey, in a village in the northern province of Aleppo.

Almost at the same time, four Russian planes bombed the surroundings of a Turkish army observation post in the jihadist and rebel stronghold of

Jabal al-Zawiya,

in the south of the province of Idleb.

On Saturday, Russian devices entered into action against pro-Turkish rebel positions in Aleppo province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

This UK-based NGO reports that the Turkish army has routed reinforcements in men and equipment to the Idleb de-escalation zone, where Ankara troops have been deploying several thousand soldiers for more than 18 months.

This unprecedented escalation for months comes after a rare meeting, on September 14 in Moscow, between the Russian and Syrian presidents.

During this meeting, Vladimir Putin criticized the interference of American and Turkish forces in Syria, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Since the 

Putin-Assad summit

, experts and media close to Damascus assure that the Syrian army and its Russian ally are preparing to launch a new offensive against the jihadists and the pro-Turkish rebels who control certain areas in the provinces of 'Idlib and Aleppo.

► See also: Syria: the UN estimates that the conflict has killed at least 350,000 people in ten years

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