Russian airstrikes reportedly target Turkish aid convoy in Syria
Turkey's
state-run news agency and activists on the ground say Russian
airstrikes hit an aid convoy travelling near the Syrian border town of
Azaz in the Aleppo province. The Anadolu agency reported that seven
people were killed and 10 wounded in strikes that it said hit a Turkish
convoy taking…
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Russian airstrikes reportedly target Turkish aid convoy in Syria
Image: Firas Faham / Anadolu News Agency/Associated Press
The Anadolu agency reported that seven people were killed and 10 wounded in strikes that it said hit a Turkish convoy taking supplies to refugees in the town on Wednesday.
See also: Maps from Russia and Turkey tell very different stories about the downed jet
It is unclear who carried out the attacks, though some on the ground
asserted that Russia was behind the strike. The Turkish-based IHH
Humanitarian Relief Foundation has a team working in the area and also
made claims that the strikes came from Russian planes.
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They tweeted photos of the aftermath and rescue efforts that show emergency responders struggling to extinguish the flames.
Footage posted by Syrian activists based in Azaz shows images of a convoy of trucks engulfed in flames.
Syrian regime forces have also been carrying out strikes in the area in recent weeks.
The strike on the aid convoy comes one day after Turkish forces downed a Russian jet that allegedly crossed into Turkey while conducting strikes in Syria. Turkey shot down the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 military plan and rebels on the ground shot and killed one of the pilots as he parachuted to the ground, intensifying tensions in the region.
Russia said the plane had stayed above Syria while Turkey said it had encroached upon Turkish airspace, and that it warned the Russian plane "10 times in five minutes" about the airspace violation before two Turkish F-16s shot it down.
Russian warplanes have been conducting airstrikes in the region for days, The Turkmen Mountain region near Azaz was the target of Syrian government offensive recently, under the cover of Russian air strikes.
Turkmen civilians in the area have also reportedly been targeted by Russian air strikes in the region in recent days. One week ago, Prime Minister Davutoglu condemned the attacks in the area, after the foreign ministry said Turkmen civilians were were subjected to “heavy bombardment” by Russian planes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported earlier intensive Russian airstrikes in Azaz on Wednesday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking to the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said that the act by Turkey will have "serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations and will not go unanswered," according to a statement released by the Kremlin.
Additional information from the Associated Press.
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