Russia oversees Syrian forces’ military exercises in northwest Syria
Russia is testing the readiness of the Syrian government forces in their area of deployment on the outskirts of Idlib, in what some fear is a prelude to a wide-scale military operation to uproot the opposition in northwest Syria.
ALEPPO, Syria — The Syrian government forces, under the supervision of Russian forces, conducted in early October various military training exercises in the mountainous areas in the countryside of Latakia province, adjacent to Idlib in northwestern Syria.
Earlier, similar military exercises were carried out in the east of the capital Damascus.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said in an Oct. 10 Facebook post that the military exercises were held in the presence of the chief of the General Staff of the Syrian army, Gen. Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim, and the commander of the Russian forces operating in Syria, Gen. Aleksandr Chaiko, as well as several senior Syrian army officers and Russian officers.
It continued, “The exercises lasted for several days in cooperation with the Russian forces operating in Syria. The forces conducted a tactical operational project using live ammunition that simulates the real combat conditions in mountainous areas, rugged terrain and forests.”
