At least seven fighters from a pro-Ankara Syrian group perished on Sunday in Russian raids, which is rare in an area controlled by Turkey and its local allies in northern Syria, said the Syrian Observatory of human rights (OSDH).
"Seven fighters of the Hamza division perished in four strikes carried out by the Russian air force in the region of Afrin, in the province of Aleppo", which also left eleven wounded, indicated the OSDH.
Russian planes have carried out ten airstrikes since Saturday on the Afrin region, OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahmane said, describing Russian raids in this area as "rare". Russia, staunch allies of the Syrian regime, and Turkey, which supports rebel groups, are two major players in the Syrian conflict and in 2020 sponsored a ceasefire agreement in the Idlib region in the north. western Syria, which is still out of Damascus's control.
Located in the province of Aleppo, the Kurdish region of Afrin was conquered in March 2018 by Turkish forces and their Syrian auxiliaries, who had dislodged the main Kurdish militia.
The sector, like all the territories held by Proturc rebels, is regularly shaken by targeted assassinations, attacks or explosions, generally attributed by Ankara to the Kurdish militias.
Launched in 2011 by pro-democracy protests, the war in Syria has grown in complexity over the years, and has left around half a million dead and millions displaced and refugees.
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