As Turkeycontinues to aid al-NusraFront, some 10,000militants of the Takfiri terrorist group have converged around Syrias northwestern province of Aleppo, says Russia'sGeneral Staff.
Despite progress achieved in securing a ceasefire, Turkey continues to funnel men and arms to al-Nusra Front,said Lieutenant GeneralSergey Rudskoy, the head of the Main Operative Department of the Russian General Staff, on Monday.
On February 27, a US- andRussia-sponsored ceasefire was brokeredbetweenthe Syrian government and dozens of militant groups operating in the country. Daesh and al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra are excluded from the truce.
Al-Nusras men and materiel are being allowed to pass through areas that the US has designated as being controlled by the opposition,he added while noting that Russia has on multiple occasions called on the US to aid in limitingal-Nusras operations.
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Lieutenant General Sergey Rudskoy, the head of the Main Operative Department of the Russian General Staff[/caption]Rudskoystressed that over 8,000 al-Nusra terrorists have gathered on the southwestern outskirts of Aleppo and 1,500 more are positioned in the citys north.
In the last 24hours, over 300 militants, a tank and 20 armed off-road vehicles have arrived in the citys vicinity, he added.
It is reliably known that the militants are planning a large-scale offensive with the aim of cutting off communication between Aleppo and Damascus,he said. If they are not stopped, we could see a blockade of the northern parts of Syria.
Last month, Russia set up a center at Hmeimim airbase in Latakiato monitor the ceasefire.
"The number of settlements that have joined the reconciliation process and signed relevant agreements with the Syrian authorities has risen to 61. A total of 47 statements of intention on cessation of hostilities have been signed with the leaders of armed groups of moderate opposition," Rudskoy added.
Syria has been grappling with a deadly conflict it blames on some foreign states for more than five years. The militancy has left over 470,000 people dead so far, according to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research.
