MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Servicemen of the Russian airbase at Syria’s Hmeymim replied an attack of drones launched from the territory of the terrorists-controlled Idlib de-escalation zone, Major General Yuri Borenkov, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Sunday.
"At about 23:00 Moscow time on February 1, airspace control tools of the Russian airbase at Hmeymim stopped a cluster air target of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) launched from militants-controlled territory of the Idlib de-escalation zone. The base’s electronic warfare systems took over control of the UAVs and deactivated their control systems," he said.
According to Borenkov, no one was hurt, no damage was done to the base. The Hmeymim base continues to operate in a routine mode.
He also said that illegal armed groups continued to violate the ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone. "Thirty-two shelling attacks were reported during the day," he said.
Four de-escalation zones were established in Syria under as agreement reached by the three Syrian ceasefire guarantor nations, namely Russia, Iran and Turkey, in May 2017. Three of them are now controlled by Damascus while the fourth one located in the Idlib governorate and partially in the neighboring Latakia, Hama and Aleppo governorates is still outside Damascus’ control, with a larger part of it being seized by Jabhat al-Nusra (a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) militants.
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.