MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Five drones launched from militants-controlled territories have been downed by the Russian military near the Hmeymom airbase in Syria, chief of the Russia Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties Alexei Tsygankov said on Monday.

"During the past day, radars of the Russian airbase at Hmeymim spotted five unmanned aerial vehicles launched from the Idlib de-escalation zone controlled by illegal armed groups. The airbase’s missile defense systems downed these air targets at a safe distance from the base. No one was hurt, no material damage was done. The Russian airbase is operating routinely," he said.

He also said that as many as 650 food baskets with an overall weight of more than 2.8 tonnes were distributed among civilians in the settlement of Salhiyah in the Deir ez-Zor governorate.

The Russian reconciliation center has conducted nearly 1,900 humanitarian operations since the beginning of the settlement process. Some 2,900 tonnes of humanitarian cargoes have been delivered.

Ten Syrians, including five children, received medical assistance from Russian military doctors during the day.

Russian reconciliation center

The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.