Russian military leave key positions in northern Syria
The Russian military left Tel Rifaat, a key city in the Aleppo province in northern Syria, reports Al-Masdar News.
The Russian military left the city after a week of joint maneuvers with the armed forces of Turkey. Despite the withdrawal of the Russian military, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) refused to leave the village and strengthened its defense positions in the Tel Rifaat area.
It is also reported that Turkey could not agree with Iran on the withdrawal of troops from the suburbs of Aleppo. The Iranian armed forces rejected the demand of the Turkish side to leave the cities of Nubbol and Al-Zahra, where the members of the Hezbollah Islamist movement are stationed.
On April 10, it became known that the SAA forces launched a large-scale offensive in northwestern Syria in response to the ISIS attack the day before.
During a night raid of the militants at least six Syrian soldiers were killed.
In December 2018, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu announced the withdrawal of the main group of Russian troops from Syria.