Syria: key dates since the Russian intervention
Date
3/14/2016 11:05:19 PM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with Russian President Vladimir Putin. AFP file Photo Sergei Karpukhin
Moscow: Russia a loyal ally of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has since late September been carrying out air strikes in Syria.
Moscow says the strikes are aimed at "terrorists" notably the jihadist Islamic State but it faces accusations of hitting non-jihadist rebels and civilians as it seeks to bolster Assad.
A timeline:
Military intervention
September 30 2015: Russia at the Damascus regime's request launches air strikes on Syria saying it has hit IS targets.
However the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor says the strikes were mainly targetted at the Al-Nusra Front Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda and Islamist rebels.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow must act preemptively to destroy jihadists in Syria before they present a threat closer to home.
- On October 7 for the first time Russian warships in the Caspian Sea fleet join in strikes in Syria with a volley of cruise missile attacks.
- Washington says that almost all the Russian strikes are aimed at moderate armed groups who are fighting the regime.
- Diplomatic offensive -
- October 20 2015: After three weeks of Russian air strikes Putin launches a diplomatic initiative and invites Assad to Moscow for a high-profile visit.
- November 14: After a first meeting on October 30 the big powers including Russia the United States France and for the first time Iran meet in Vienna where they agree on a fixed calendar for Syria but remain sharply at odds over the future of Assad.
Russia-Turkey crisis
November 24: Tensions soar between the two rival players in the Syria war when Turkey shoots down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border saying it has violated its airspace.
Civilian victims and Aleppo offensive
December 23: Amnesty International says Russian air raids have killed "hundreds of civilians" in Syria many in targeted strikes that could constitute war crimes. Russia's defence ministry says the report consists of "cliches and fakes."
February 1 2016: Syrian regime forces backed by Russian air strikes launch an offensive against rebels around the northern city of Aleppo prompting an exodus by tens of thousands of civilians.
In early March 2016 the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that more than 1700 civilians including 429 children have died since the beginning of the Russian intervention.
A US-Russian intiated truce
February 27: An unprecedented "cessation of hostilities" initiated by Washington and Moscow comes into force. It applies to combat zones between Russian-backed regime forces and non-jihadist rebels but does not apply to the more than half of the country's territory that is controlled by extremist groups.
Russian withdrawal -
March 14: Putin orders the defence ministry to begin the withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria from Tuesday.
The Russian deployment has turned the tide in Assad's favour rescuing his regime from the brink of collapse.
AFP