Tabnak – After months of speculations about the fate of the last remaining rebel stronghold in Syria, the Syrian army backed by Russia is gradually retaking the areas under the control of the rebel and terrorist groups in the area. Meanwhile, Russia continues its diplomatic support for Damascus at the United Nations.
According to the local sources, Syrian forces targeted the positions of Al-Nusra Front terrorists in the southern countryside of Idlib, inflicting major losses on them.
The militants’ gathering centers in the town of Hass in Idlib were pounded after they attempted to sneak into areas located in a planned buffer zone, which surrounds Idlib and also parts of the adjacent provinces of Aleppo and Hama, SANA news agency reported.
In the meantime, the army troops carried out operations against terrorists in the areas of Haish and Kfar Sijn between Hama and Idlib, destroying a number of their vehicles, the report added. During the counterattacks, dozens of the militants were killed and many others fled the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Moscow has blocked a United Nations Security Council statement on the humanitarian situation in Syria due to attempts to misrepresent the situation in Idlib, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Vladimir Safronkov said.
"We have not passed and blocked the press elements drafted by our humanitarian troika comprising Belgium, Germany and Kuwait, which [press elements] were meant to misrepresent the situation in Idlib," he told TASS on Friday, answering questions about the closed-door consultations on Syria at the UN Security Council.
Russia and the United States continue professional dialogue about the current situation in Syria’s Idlib, Safronkov added. "Talks are ongoing with US counterparts via professional channels, both military and political," he assured answering TASS questions about the closed-door session of the UN Security Council on Syria.
Under a deal reached following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in September, all militants should have withdrawn from the demilitarization zone by October 15.
However, al-Qaeda-linked Takfiri terrorists said they refuse to either leave the buffer zone or hand over their weapons.
Moscow believed that the 15-20 kilometer buffer zone would help stop attacks from Idlib-based militants on Syrian army positions and Russia's military bases in the flashpoint region.
Idlib and some surrounding areas are the last major bastions of Takfiri terrorists and anti-government militants in Syria.
