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01-12-2017, 05:34 AM
https://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/akhbar/2017-01-12/l_178580_045356_print.jpg There is a fragile ceasefire in place across the country
By Josie Ensor
Russia has sent as many as a dozen more fighter jets to Syria, days after President Putin’s an**uncement that Moscow was scaling back its military deployment in the war-torn country. Vladimir Putin declared last week that Russia would begin withdrawing forces following a ceasefire deal between the government and opposition. However 12 Su-25s were reported to have arrived at Moscow’s base in the coastal city of Latakia on Monday, signalling its intention to remain deeply involved in the conflict. Experts speculated that the warplanes had been sent to make up for the loss of its rusting aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which was also recalled. The Su-25s will be used in an aerial campaign on rebel-held territory around Aleppo, according to pro-government website al-Masdar. Airstrikes from Russian and Syrian jets were reported in Aleppo’s western and southern countryside on Wednesday morning. Russian warplanes are reported to have conducted at least 30 airstrikes on Syria’s second city over the last 48 hours - double the number they launched all last week in this province. There is a fragile ceasefire in place across the country, however Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) and Islamist group Jaish Fateh al-Sham are excluded from the truce. The regime says it is only striking territory under the control of the rebels, however the opposition refutes claims they are present in some of the areas being targeted. Moscow has wrong-footed its opponents before with an**uncements of withdrawal that never materialised. In March last year, Putin declared they had accomplished their mission in Syria and an**unced a drawdown of its troops. In the months that followed however Russia ratcheted up air strikes on Aleppo in support of ally President Bashar al-Assad, in a campaign that cost the lives of thousands of civilians. Russia’s support, with airstrikes and military advisers - along with the boosting of its arsenal and a naval base on the Syrian coast - changed the course of the civil war in favour of Assad. Russia’s Hmeimim base, built in 2015, can accommodate 50 military aircraft, as well as Mil Mi-24 gunships and Mil Mi-8 support helicopters. Last week an Israeli satellite captured images of what was said to be nuclear-capable missiles stationed at Hmeimim. The SS-26 Iskander surface- to-surface missiles can reach 350 miles - meaning they are in range of UK air base of RAP Akrotiri in Cyprus. Igor Sutyagin, a senior research fellow in Russian studies at think-tank RUSI, said: “Syria is like a huge test area for Russia. These missiles are a generational step ahead of what it had before.”
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By Josie Ensor
Russia has sent as many as a dozen more fighter jets to Syria, days after President Putin’s an**uncement that Moscow was scaling back its military deployment in the war-torn country. Vladimir Putin declared last week that Russia would begin withdrawing forces following a ceasefire deal between the government and opposition. However 12 Su-25s were reported to have arrived at Moscow’s base in the coastal city of Latakia on Monday, signalling its intention to remain deeply involved in the conflict. Experts speculated that the warplanes had been sent to make up for the loss of its rusting aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which was also recalled. The Su-25s will be used in an aerial campaign on rebel-held territory around Aleppo, according to pro-government website al-Masdar. Airstrikes from Russian and Syrian jets were reported in Aleppo’s western and southern countryside on Wednesday morning. Russian warplanes are reported to have conducted at least 30 airstrikes on Syria’s second city over the last 48 hours - double the number they launched all last week in this province. There is a fragile ceasefire in place across the country, however Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) and Islamist group Jaish Fateh al-Sham are excluded from the truce. The regime says it is only striking territory under the control of the rebels, however the opposition refutes claims they are present in some of the areas being targeted. Moscow has wrong-footed its opponents before with an**uncements of withdrawal that never materialised. In March last year, Putin declared they had accomplished their mission in Syria and an**unced a drawdown of its troops. In the months that followed however Russia ratcheted up air strikes on Aleppo in support of ally President Bashar al-Assad, in a campaign that cost the lives of thousands of civilians. Russia’s support, with airstrikes and military advisers - along with the boosting of its arsenal and a naval base on the Syrian coast - changed the course of the civil war in favour of Assad. Russia’s Hmeimim base, built in 2015, can accommodate 50 military aircraft, as well as Mil Mi-24 gunships and Mil Mi-8 support helicopters. Last week an Israeli satellite captured images of what was said to be nuclear-capable missiles stationed at Hmeimim. The SS-26 Iskander surface- to-surface missiles can reach 350 miles - meaning they are in range of UK air base of RAP Akrotiri in Cyprus. Igor Sutyagin, a senior research fellow in Russian studies at think-tank RUSI, said: “Syria is like a huge test area for Russia. These missiles are a generational step ahead of what it had before.”
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