Beirut : Russia announced a major air offensive in Syria as Syrian opposition activists reported the first airstrikes in three weeks in the besieged, rebel-held part of the northern city of Aleppo, reports AP.
The offensive began hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump discussed Syria over the phone and agreed on the need to combine efforts in the fight against what the Kremlin called their No 1 enemy “international terrorism and extremism.” US President Barack Obama’s administration has been trying for months to negotiate a cease-fire in Aleppo, the epicenter of the war between President Bashar Assad and rebels fighting to topple him, some of whom receive US aid. Al-Qaida’s local affiliate fights alongside the rebels, but the Islamic State group has no presence in Aleppo. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a meeting with Putin that the operation involves aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which made a much-publicized trip to Syria’s shores last month.
He said Russian warplanes will target ammunition depots, training camps and armaments factories in the rebel-held province of Idlib and the central province of Homs. He did not immediately mention Aleppo. The activists reported strikes in all three places. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said missiles fired from Russian warships in the Mediterranean have struck areas in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
