7 Oct 2017 12:01

Russia, Turkey record about 10 ceasefire violations in Syria over past 24 hours

MOSCOW. Oct 7 (Interfax) - The situation in the de-escalation areas in Syria remains stable, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Saturday.

"The situation in the de-escalation areas is currently assessed as stable. The Russian delegation to the joint Russian-Turkish commission dealing with violations of the cessation agreements has recorded five instances of shooting in the Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus governorates," the ministry said.

The Turkish delegation to the commission has recorded four violations in the Idlib and Damascus governorates, it said.

"Most of the instances of random shooting using small arms have been recorded in areas controlled by militants from the terrorist groups Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIL [banned in Russia]," the ministry said.

Two agreements on joining the cessation process have been signed in the communities of Al-Dar al-Kabirah, the Homs governorate, and Khirbat al-Shabab, the Damascus governorate, which brings the total number of populated areas that have joined the cessation process to 2,244, it said.