SOHR: Russian attacks in Syria have decreased since the start of the war in Ukraine

Russian army shelling in Syria has decreased in intensity since the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, a Syrian NGO said on Friday in a report marking the seventh anniversary of Russia’s military intervention alongside the Damascus regime.

Since September 30, 2021, Russian attacks have caused 241 deaths, mostly fighters of the Islamic State jihadist group, but also 28 civilians, according to the report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The worst balance of Russian attacks was recorded in 2015, the first year of Moscow’s military intervention in Syria, with 9,364 dead -including 3,804 civilians (906 children, 561 women and 2,337 men)-, reported the NGO based in Greater Britain but which has a wide network of sources in Syria.

In total, in the last seven years, Russian bombing in Syria has caused more than 21,000 deaths, including 8,697 civilians, of whom 2,112 were children, according to the same source.

“Russia’s military interventions in Syria have decreased since the beginning of the war in Ukraine,” launched on February 24, the NGO added in its report. “The Russians are busy with what is happening in Ukraine, so the attacks in Syria have decreased considerably,” he said.

Syria and Russia have been allies for decades, but ties have strengthened significantly during the Syrian conflict, as Moscow intervened militarily on the side of Bashar al-Assad’s regime beginning in 2015.

The war in Syria, triggered by the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations, has caused nearly 500,000 deaths, devastated the country’s infrastructure and displaced millions of people.