MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Illegal armed groups are staging armed provocations against pro-government troops in the southwest of Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone, said Rear Adm. Alexander Karpov, the deputy head of the Russian reconciliation center in Syria.
"In the southwest of the Idlib de-escalation zone, illegal armed groups are engaged in activities that may indicate their preparations for provocations against pro-government forces," he said.
According to Karpov, terrorists have been mustering their forces near three Syrian towns.
"Up to 300 militants, ten pickup trucks with heavy machine guns and improvised multiple rocket launch systems have been redeployed near the towns of Knedda, Kbana and Sirmaniya," he said.
The Russian reconciliation center calls upon leaders of illegal armed groups to refrain from armed provocations and engage in peaceful conflict settlement in areas under their control.
Also, the Russian rear admiral said the reconciliation center had carried out a humanitarian delivery to the town of Shmeysa in the Hama governorate, distributing 2.6 tonnes of food among residents.