“Putin-Erdogan” area in August 2022 | Broad protests against the Turks…ongoing airstrikes by Russian jets…escalating ground bombardment

The “de-escalation zone”, stretching from the north-eastern mountains of Latakia to the north-western suburbs of Aleppo city running through both Hama and Idlib, has been under an “alleged” and in-name-only ceasefire agreed upon after a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 5, 2020.

 

However, that region has experienced a noticeable escalation of military operations by Russian and regime forces and their loyal militias, including daily bombardment with tens of rockets and artillery shells and Russian airstrikes, which all have caused significant human losses and material damage. Meanwhile, Turkey, the “de-escalation” guarantor, seems satisfied with its “timid” bombardment of regime positions, which has not restrained this alarming military escalation which is mainly concentrated in the southern countryside of Idlib, as well as affecting east Idlib countryside, towns and villages of Sahl Al-Ghab in the north-western countryside of Hama, Latakia mountains and western Aleppo countryside.

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has monitored and tracked all developments and violations against Syrian people in the “de-escalation zone” in August 2022, including the military escalation by Russian and regime forces, incidents and attacks, deteriorating security, instability and disastrous humanitarian situation. These key developments can be summarised in the following main points:

 

 

Russian fighter jets execute 16 airstrikes

 

Russian fighter jets attacked “Putin-Erdogan” area on two occasions in the past month, but no casualties were reported.

 

Here are further details of Russian airstrikes monitored by SOHR activists:

 

• 23 August: Russian jets executed 14 airstrikes on bushes around Idlib city, where headquarters and camps of the factions are located.

 

• August 31: Two Russian airstrikes hit a position nearby Sarjeh village and another position on the outskirts of Idlib city.

 

 

Hundreds of shells hit more than 47 positions

 

Beside the repeated Russian airstrikes on the “de-escalation zone,” regime ground attacks also continued in August. SOHR sources reported that more than 2,200 artillery shells and rockets were fired by the regime forces and their loyal militias on military and residential positions in areas under the control of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and the Jihadist groups and factions. The attacks targeted 47 positions in the rural areas of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Latakia.

 

Regime attacks are distributed regionally as follows:

 

• Aleppo: 700 shells and rockets hit Darat Izza city, the villages of Kafr Nouran, Kafr Amah, Al-Sheikh Suleiman, Taqad, Tadeel, Kafr Taal and the surrounding areas of Al-Atareb.

 

• Idlib: 900 shells and rockets hit Bayanin, Hursh Bayanin, Sfouhen, Al-Rouwayah, Al-Fatirah, Sarja, Kansafra, Al-Mawzarah, Maarrat Aliya, Deir Sonbul, Ain Larouz, Al-Barah, Maarat Al-Naasan, Ghaniya, Sheikh Sandyan, Fulayfel, Mantaf, Maarbleet, Kadourah , Saan, Hursh Basnqoul, Jadarya, Al-Badriyah, Inb, and the surrounding areas of Sarmin, Afes, Musaybeen, Al-Nayreb and Jabal Al-Arba’in.

 

• Hama: 400 shells and rockets hit Al-Sarmaniya, Al-Mabaqer, Al-Mashik, Al-Ankawi, Kharbah Al-Naqous, Tel Waset, Al-Mansourah, Al-Qarqour and Al-Ziyyarah.

 

• Latakia countryside: 200 shells and rockets hit Al-Tuffahiyah frontline, Al-Saffiyyat, the hills of Kabanah, Deir Al-Akrad and the frontline of Jabal Al-Turkman.

 

 

Ground bombardment and clashes leave casualties

 

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) activists documented escalating bombardment in “Putin-Erdogan” area in August, which caused the death of 18 people; they are as follows:

 

• Five regime soldiers

 

• 13 members of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham and opposition factions, including a commander of Jaysh Al-Izza and three Uzbek jihadists.

 

Here are further details:

 

• August 1: SOHR activists documented the death of a rebel from Balshoun village in Jabal Al-Zawiyah by artillery fire by regime forces, while he was heading to farmlands near the frontline of Deir Sonbul in Idlib countryside.

 

• August 2: SOHR activists documented the death of a regime soldier, after being shot by factions of “Al-Fath Al-Mubin” operations room on the frontline of Hursh Kafr Nebl in Idlib countryside.

 

• August 7: Three members of “Ansar Al-Turkestan” faction were killed in an attack with a guided missile fired by regime forces on their military vehicle on Al-Hakourah frontline in Sahl Al-Ghab.

 

• August 9: Three Uzbek jihadists were killed in a suicidal operation on regime positions in eastern Idlib.

 

• August 19: A member of the National Liberation Front was killed by an advanced landmine near frontlines with regime forces in Al-Bara town in the southern countryside of Idlib.

 

• August 24: A military commander of Jaysh Al-Izza faction was killed in regime bombardment on Jabal Al-Zawiyah frontlines.

 

• August 24: Three members of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham were killed by two separate rounds of regime bombardment on the western countryside of Aleppo and Jabal Al-Zawiyah in southern Idlib.

 

• August 27: A regime soldier was shot dead by a sniper of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham on the frontlines of Al-Burayj village in the north of Kafr Nebl city in southern Idlib.

 

• August 29: SOHR activists documented the death of three regime soldiers by sniper fire and attacks by factions of “Al-Fath Al-Mubin” operations room on the frontlines of south Idlib countryside.

 

• August 29: A member of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham was killed by regime artillery fire on the surrounding areas of Kafr Nuran village in the western countryside of Aleppo.

 

 

UN humanitarian convoy enters “Putin-Erdogan” area

 

On August 4, a UN convoy of 14 trucks carrying food supplies crossed from regime controlled areas to the “de-escalation zone,” via Tarnaba crossing in Idlib countryside. The convoy headed to warehouses in the northern countryside of Idlib.

 

It is worth noting that this was the sixth UN aid convoy to enter north Syria region following a Security Council decision to extend a vital system for cross-border aid to Syria.

 

 

Five fatalities in incidents of security chaos

 

SOHR activists documented four incidents of security disorder in areas under the control of HTS and opposition factions in Idlib city and surrounding villages in August, which left five people dead; they are four civilians, including a woman and a child, and a combatant. Further details of the circumstances of these incidents are summarised as follows:

 

• August 1: A young man was shot dead by a gang on a motorcycle near Koko village in north-western Idlib. The gang is led by an Uzbek man.

 

• August 20: An elderly man and his wife were murdered in their house in Kafatayn village by a gang led by an Uzbek man. The victims were from the Druze sect.

 

• August 22: Members of a gang led by an Uzbek man shot dead a member of the “National Liberation Front” in Katyan village.

 

• August 30: A displaced child from Maarrat Al-Na’san town was found dead in an area nearby Atmah town in the northern countryside of Idlib, where he had gone to this area to collect plastic objects.

 

It is worth noting that the security service of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham arrested a gang comprising Uzbek individuals on August 24. The gang’s members confessed to involving in assassinations of civilians and fighters of military formations.

 

 

Security disorder and proliferation of arms

 

Also, in August, two family infightings took place in the “de-escalation zone,” which left casualties, with the first taking place on August 25 when clashes erupted between a group of displaced people from Al-Lataminah and a group of displaced people from Daraa in “Ataa” camp in Atma in the northern countryside of Idlib following disagreements. The clashes left several people on both sides injured.

 

While on August 30, clashes erupted between two families in Al-Lajj village in Ariha area in Idlib countryside, where two civilians were killed and several others were injured.

 

 

Old ordnance poses threaten to residents’ safety and lives

 

Old landmines and unexploded projectile in “Putin-Erdogan” area are still posing a considerable threat to the safety and lives of civilians living there. In this context, SOHR activists documented the death of five people: four civilians, including a child, and a little rebel, due to war ordnance explosions in the past month. Here are further details:

 

• August 13: A civilian was killed by the explosion of an old landmine in Al-Nayrab area in eastern Idlib.

 

• August 16: A child was killed by the explosion of an unexploded cluster bomb in Qastoun town in Sahl Al-Ghab in north-western Hama countryside

 

• August 18: A little rebel under the age of 18 was killed by a landmine explosion on the outskirts of Kafr Ammah town in west Aleppo countryside.

 

• August 26: Two workers died of the wounds he sustained due to the explosion of an unexploded shell in a metal smelting factory on the road between Idlib and Bab Al-Hawa, near Maarrat Masrin city in northern Idlib.

 

It is worth noting that old ordnance, including landmines and unexploded bombs, shells, grenades and projectiles are strewn everywhere in residential areas, amid lack of specialist teams to remove them or raise the awareness of residents, particularly children, about the threats which this ordnance poses.

 

 

Public celebrations in church in west Idlib

 

On August 28, Christian residents of Al-Ya’qoupiyah village in Jisr Al-Shughour countryside in western Idlib celebrated the feast of St. Anna in the Armenian Church in the village. The village’s Christian residents celebrated publicly and rang the church’s bells for the first time in nearly a decade. This comes as a part of Al-Julani’ efforts gain the international community’s respect through portraying himself as a “defender” of religious minorities in areas under it control, at the suggestion of the Turkish government.

 

 

Growing protests against Turkey

 

The latest statements by the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in which he said, “we need to somehow come to terms with the opposition and the regime in Syria,” ignited broad public anger in north Syria region, where protests noticeably escalated in August. During the past month, residents staged several morning and evening demonstrations, opposing the minister’s statements which included a proposal for a “reconciliation” with Al-Assad’s regime, while hundreds of residents demonstrated in front of Turkish military posts.

 

In this context, thousands of residents participated in demonstrations staged on August 12 in 18 areas under the control of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham: they are as follows:

 

• Aleppo: Al-Atareb, Darat Izza, Abbin Sam’an, Azaz, Al-Jinah and Tel Al-Karamah.

 

• Idlib: Idlib city, Al-Dana, Harem, Kafrya, Al-Mastoumah, Atma, Salqin, Jisr Al-Shughour, Sarmada, Kafr Lusin, the camps of Maarrat Masrin, Darkoush and Hazanu.

 

Meanwhile, Turkish soldiers stationed in the Turkish base in Al-Mastumah town in southern Idlib fired tear gas shells, attempting to disperse demonstrators who had gathered in front of the base, as some protestors attempted to climb up the walls of the base.

 

Moreover, all military posts and positions of Turkish forces in Idlib were put on high alert over the widespread demonstrations in different areas across Idlib countryside.

 

Similarly, on August 16, tens of residents staged an evening demonstration in Idlib city, protesting the Turkish Foreign Minister’s statements.

 

Also, on August 19, hundreds of residents took to the streets in Idlib city centre and Saramada, Kafr Arouq and Kafr Lusin in the northern countryside of Idlib, where they participated in demonstrations staged after Friday Prayer under the slogan “we are revolutionaries and not rebels.”

 

The demonstrators chanted slogans, such as “no to reconciliation with Al-Assad’s regime,” expressing their rejection of the latest statements by the Turkish Foreign Minister.

 

 

Three batches of Turkish military reinforcement arrive in Idlib countryside

 

Turkish forces brought in three batches of military reinforcement to their posts in Idlib countryside in August, and they are as follows:

 

• August 1: A convoy of Turkish military reinforcement comprising tanks, armoured vehicles and personnel carriers arrived in an area near frontlines with regime forces in Idlib countryside. The convoy was stationed in the recently-established Turkish post in Balyon town in Jabal Al-Zawiyah.

 

• August 14: Turkish forces brought in new military reinforcement to their positions in Idlib province in “Putin-Erdogan” area. According to SOHR sources, a military convoy crossed through Bab Al-Hawa border crossing in northern Idlib, while another convoy entered Syria via Khirbet Al-Jouz crossing, west of Idlib. The new reinforcement were deployed to Turkish military bases in Jabal Al-Zawiyah and other areas in Idlib countryside. The reinforcement comprised tanks, armoured vehicles, personnel carriers, rocket launchers and logistical supplies.

 

• August 19: A Turkish military convoy crossed into Syria, via Kherbet Al-Jouz crossing in the western countryside of Idlib. The convoy, which comprised nearly 30 vehicles, personnel carriers, armoured vehicles and trucks carrying supplies, headed to Turkish military posts in Jabal Al-Zawiyah.

 

On the other hand, SOHR activists reported, on August 23, that Turkish soldiers and armoured vehicles were deployed along Aleppo-Latakia international highway (M4) as a part of a large-scale combing campaign at the part of highway stretching from west Ariha city to Jisr Al-Shughour city.

 

The combing campaigns aimed at detecting suspicious bodies and IEDs planted by jihadist groups on M4 highway to target Turkish vehicles.

 

 

As a human rights organisation, we, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), call upon all international powers concerned with Syria’s affairs and the international community to intervene immediately and put an end to the bloodshed in Syria, as well as applying international humanitarian laws and keeping civilians away from military operations and conflicts.

 

We also demand that Russia and Turkey, the “de-escalation” guarantors, comply with the ceasefire agreement and stop all violations, including intensive bombardment and airstrikes, which only affect civilians who seek a safe haven in the “de-escalation zone”, fleeing from the repression of the Syrian regime and its security services.