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US-led coalition’s aircraft violate Syrian airspace 12 times in past day

Two shelling attacks on the positions of Syrian government army by the Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic Party of Turkestan groups were reported in the Idlib de-escalation zone

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. The US-led coalition’s aircraft violated Syria’s airspace in the al-Tanf area twelve times during the past day, Yury Popov, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian defense ministry), said on Sunday.

"Aircraft of the so-called international anti-terrorist coalition led by the United States continues to create dangerous situation that may cause air accident or incidents and escalate the situation in Syria’s airspace," he said. "Three pairs of the coalition’s F-15 and a pair of Rafale fighter jets, as well as two pairs of A-10 Thunderbolt attack bombers violated Syria’s airspace in the al-Tanf area, across which international air routes run, 12 times during the day."

Apart from that, in his words, three violations of the deconfliction protocols of December 9, 2019 linked with the flights by the US-led coalition unmanned aerial vehicles were reported in Syria in the past 24 hours.

He also said that two shelling attacks on the positions of Syrian government army by the Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic Party of Turkestan (both outlawed in Russia) groups were reported in the Idlib de-escalation zone: one in the Idlib governorate and one in the Latakia governorate.

According to Popov, one Syrian soldier was wounded as a result of sniper fire by terrorists at the positions of Syrian government troops near the settlement of Al-Areym in the Latakia governorate.

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