Four Killed, 15 Injured in Russian Airstrikes on Idlib

ARK News… Russian and Syrian forces have intensified airstrikes and shelling in opposition-held Idlib province as Turkey dispatched reinforcements to its checkpoints in the de-escalation zones of northwestern Syria.

Russian airstrikes on bases and camps for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Syrian opposition factions in the west of Idlib left four people dead and more than 15 others wounded, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday.

Local sources said Russian fighter jets targeted the town of Hamama with eight raids.

During a press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Swedish FM Ann Linde slammed Ankara and accused it of spurring clashes in Syria and other regions.

She demanded the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syrian territories.

The Swedish minister held Ankara responsible for dividing Syria and oppressing the Kurds there. She also expressed rejection of rights violations and the systematic arrest of Kurds.

Cavusoglu snapped back by asking, “On whose authority are you telling Turkey to withdraw from Syria or warning Turkey?”

“Did the regime in Syria give such authorization to Sweden or the EU?”

He accused Sweden of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated by Ankara as a terrorist organization.

Europe would flood with around three million Syrian refugees if Turkish forces withdrew from Idlib, he warned.

In a related context, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied Wednesday claims that Turkey had sent Syrian fighters or mercenaries in support of its ally Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Those who call us say ‘you sent there the militants from Syria’. We don’t have any such agenda,” Erdogan said in a televised speech.

“They have work to do on their own lands, they wouldn’t go there,” he said about the militants.

Source: Four Killed, 15 Injured in Russian Airstrikes on Idlib | ARK News