Syrian forces yesterday made advances against rebels in Hama and Latakia governorates as the US and Russia declared “progress” in talks designed to avoid accidents in war-torn Syria’s increasingly crowded airspace.
The Pentagon said more talks with Moscow were planned after positive discussions on Saturday aimed at preventing military mistakes, a decision confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defence, which described negotiations so far as “professional and constructive.”
Western governments claim the vast majority of Russian strikes have targeted rebel groups other than Islamic State — the focus of their own air campaign — in an attempt to defend Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
In Hama, with Russian air support and the assistance of militias on the ground, regime forces captured several areas.
Al-Assad’s troops seized the village of Atshun from opposition fighters, including al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, state TV and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, with heavy fighting reported as they sought to push northwest and take a neighboring hilltop.
They appeared to be targeting the town of Khan Shaykhun, just across the provincial border in Idlib on a highway connecting Aleppo and Damascus.
The road is cut by rebels in several places north of Khan Shaykhun, and a military source said they had taken the Sukayk hills overlooking the road.
The Hama Governorate has been a key target for Russian air strikes that began on Sept. 30, along with parts of neighboring Latakia and Idlib governorates.
Russia’s strikes appear intended to prevent any advance by the Army of Conquest alliance, which includes al-Nusra, which holds Idlib and has sought to push into Hama and Latakia.
The observatory said there was heavy fighting in north and northwestern Latakia, and that government forces were advancing.
In Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defence on Saturday said its forces had hit 55 Islamic State targets in the previous 24 hours.
The strikes — in Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Raqa and Idlib governorates — destroyed 29 training camps for “terrorists,” 23 defensive positions, two command centers and an ammunition depot, the ministry said.
Rebels and their backers say Hama, Idlib and Latakia have little or no Islamic State presence, and accuse Russia of targeting moderate and opposition fighters more than the extremist group.
Russian warplanes struck both Latakia and Idlib on Friday and Saturday, including a raid in Idlib that destroyed a base belonging to a rebel group that has received US weapons, it said.
The US-led coalition said it carried out five strikes against the Islamic State in Syria and another 20 in Iraq, but the Russian air campaign has complicated its efforts.
Washington expressed alarm last week after Moscow failed to quickly answer proposals made during previous talks, even as Russia launched cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea and repeatedly violated Turkish airspace.
In related news, Human Rights Watch yesterday accused Russia of being behind the use of new advanced cluster munitions in Syria.
The New York-based group said it had obtained photographs showing cluster munitions were dropped on Kafr Halab, a village southwest of Aleppo, on Oct. 4.
It said it could not confirm whether the munitions had been used by Russian forces, or supplied by Moscow, but used by Syria.
“It’s disturbing that yet another type of cluster munition is being used in Syria given the harm they cause to civilians for years to come,” Human Rights Watch deputy director for the Middle East Nadim Houry said.
“Neither Russia nor Syria should use cluster munitions, and both should join the international ban without delay,” he said.
Cluster munitions contain dozens or hundreds of bomblets and are fired in rockets or dropped from the air. They are widely banned because of their indiscriminate nature and the fact that they often maim and kill long after the original attack.
Human Rights Watch said there was also evidence the munitions had been used in Hama and Idlib provinces.
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