Russia says ‘no reconciliation’ with terrorists in Idlib
[AlMasdar] (7:30 A.M.) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Berlin on Friday.
The two diplomats discuss a number of topics, including the ongoing situation in Syria’s Idlib province.
According to Lavrov, there will be no reconciliation offered to the terrorist forces in the Idlib province; this includes groups like Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
and the Turkestan Islamic Party.“We along with our Turkish partners are vigorously working on solving the situation in Idlib in a full accordance with the arrangements which were made during the process of creating the de-escalation zone over there. The arrangements entail the announcement of the ceasefire with one crucial exception – terrorists are not included. No reconciliation, no ceasefire regime includes terrorists.”
Lavrov said that Russia will continue to abide by international humanitarian law when conducting military operations in Syria.
“We always stick to International humanitarian law when we conduct operations involving military action. I will remind you that the Russian Federation has a military presence in Syria at the request of its official government, the government of the UN member state, the government which sovereignty as well as the Syrian territorial integrity were confirmed by the UN SC resolutions for many times.”
The Russian Foreign Minister would conclude that his country is still working with Turkey to find a possible settlement in the Idlib Governorate that would avoid any violence.
SOT, Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister (Russian): “Together with our Turkish partners who cooperate in a very constructive manner on this issue we facilitate local arrangements between the units of the moderate opposition and the government forces, the same way as we did in the other de-escalation zones when they existed. We also encourage the creation of humanitarian corridors, safe zones for the civilians.”
Bad luck: Rebel commander is killed by shrapnel while filming from front-lines in Hama
[AlMasdar] (12:45 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) recently killed a high ranking commander belonging to the Harakat Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
militant group in northern Hama.
The Ahrar Al-Sham commander, Abu Walid Kernaz, was reportedly positioned near the Syrian Army’s front-lines in northern Hama, when an artillery shell struck his positions this week.
As shown in the up close footage below, Abu Walid Kernaz was positioned near his vehicle, when shrapnel from the artillery shell hit him:
Ahrar Al-Sham is one of the largest rebel groups currently fighting in northern Hama; they have vowed to defend all of the Idlib Governorate and their remaining positions in Latakia, Aleppo, and Hama.
Syrian Defense Minister tours front-lines in Idlib, Hama before offensive
[AlMasdar] (4:15 P.M.) – The Syrian Minister of Defense, General ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Ayoub, reportedly traveled to northwest Syria, today, on behalf of President Bashar Al-Assad.
According to a military communique, General Ayoub toured the front-lines in the Hama and Idlib governorates, while also meeting with the commanders in the provinces.
No further details were released.
General Ayoub often makes these visits prior to the Syrian Arab Army’s scheduled offensives.
Syrian Army attacks jihadist rebels in northern Hama and southern Idlib
[AlMasdar] (6:00 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and their allies from the National Defense Forces (NDF) resumed their strikes on northern Hama and southern Idlib this afternoon after a quiet morning in northwest Syria.
According to a military source in the provincial capital of Hama, the Syrian Arab Army and their allies heavily bombarded the towns of Al-Lataminah and Kafr Zita this afternoon, hitting a number of targets belonging to Jaysh Al-Izza in the area.
The military source added that the Syrian Arab Army’s assault then spread to the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate, where they struck the jihadist rebel defenses at the imperative towns of Taman’ah and Sukeek.
The Syrian Army’s assault in Idlib and Hama has been limited thus far, as they have only fired missiles and artillery shells towards the enemy’s positions.
They are expected to begin their push into the rebel-held areas in northern Hama and southern Idlib after the meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.