Second time in a week: Assad army helicopter was shot down in northwestern Syria

According to a report by the United Nations News Agency, the helicopter was shot near one of the rebel strongholds in which Turkey-backed forces are fighting the Syrian army. It was not reported who was behind the shooting, leading to the deaths of all crew members

Second time in a week: Assad army helicopter was shot down in northwestern Syria

Assad regime military helicopter was shot down in battle in the last rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria, in Aleppo - so Syrian news agency SNA said. In the second attack, this week all crew members on the helicopter were killed. Aleppo, "it was reported." The shooting at the helicopter led to the crash, and the deaths of all crew members. "

It was also noted that the attack took place near the city of Oram al-Kubra, where Turkey-backed rebels are operating. However, it was not reported who was behind the incident. The Turkish Anadolu agency also reported the incident, but did not specify who was responsible for the shooting at the helicopter and did not release information about the casualties.

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The scene in which the plane was shot down in northwest Syria today (Photo: AP)

Civilians around the wreckage caused by the plane belonging to the Syrian army that was shot down in the Aleppo area. February 14, 2020. (Photo: AP)

The helicopter crash was preceded by a similar incident Tuesday in the Idlib area, where three crew members were killed. Turkish media have claimed responsibility for the rebel organizations, but human rights groups have claimed Turkish soldiers opened fire on the helicopter. In Ankara, they were then told that the report was known to them, but did not take responsibility for the case.

Since December, Syria's military has been exerting heavy pressure on rebel shrines in the northwest. Violence in the region has caused a major wave of refugees in all eight years of Syria's civil war, during which, according to the UN, more than 800,000 people have been displaced from their homes. Concern among neighboring Turkey, which fears a mass refugee move into its territory.

Fatal clashes

Turkey, which has deployed troops in several locations in northern Syria, continues to support the rebel forces fighting President Bashar Assad's army, or alternatively fight the Kurdish forces. In recent months, Ankara has sent reinforcements to northwestern Syria following the attacks in the region, leading to mutual strikes between the sides.

These clashes, the last of which occurred during the week, when five Turkish soldiers were killed in a Syrian army attack on a Turkish military post, are the deadliest since Ankara sent its troops to the country in 2016.

Heavy military pressure on rebel nests. Near Aleppo, today (Photo: AP)

Civilians around the Syrian Army helicopter were shot down in the Aleppo area. February 14, 2020. (Photo: AP)

According to a report by the Syrian Human Rights Organization, during the day, Turkish-backed forces have been pushed west from the M5 highway connecting the four largest cities in the region, considered to be the most vital to the central government economy in Syria. The takeover of the central traffic artery came earlier this week, and the SNA agency announced its capture was completed during the day. In order to produce a "security belt" near the road, Assad forces occupied a central base occupied by the insurgents in 2012.