Tope Oshin
Russia says it is continuing to bomb “terrorists” in parts of Syria ahead of a cessation of hostilities due to come into effect later, BBC reports.
“The Russian air force is certainly continuing its operation in Syria” against “terrorist organisations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
But he denied reports from monitors that Russian planes had been intensively striking rebel strongholds.
World powers agreed on 12 February that a truce would start within a week.
But that deadline passed and scepticism remains over the new plan. The “cessation of hostilities” involves regime and rebel forces – but not so-called Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.
Overnight, Russian air strikes which were “more intense than usual” hit rebel bastions including at Eastern Ghouta east of Damascus, in the north of Homs province and in the west of Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
“It’s more intense than usual. It’s as if they [the Russians and the regime] want to subdue rebels in these regions or score points before the ceasefire,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.
But Mr Peskov said Russia was targeting IS, Al-Nusra Front and other extremist groups designated as legitimate targets by the UN Security Council.
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