Activists quoted by the al-Watan diary reported the arrival of a column of vehicles and trucks carrying logistics material to the municipalities of Manbej and Ain Arab (Kobani), both under control of the self-styled Syrian Democratic Forces (FDS), of Kurdish majority, with Ankara threatening to take over said territories in an offensive allegedly aimed at the FDS.
According to the sources, the reinforcements include tanks, heavy artillery and military vehicles carrying hundreds of soldiers, estimated at 550 by Kurdish media, and were deployed in the vicinity of villages on the lines of contact with the Turkish army and its local militias.
Russian military transport planes landed at the airport in the city of Qamishli, in the northeast of the country, transporting paratroopers, who linked up with the Russian Air Force squadron at the air base.
According to analysts and the media, the increase in the number of Russian soldiers in Qamishli confirms the Kremlin’s willingness to counteract any Turkish military movement towards the border areas, which fighters and helicopters have been overflying for a month.
During the month of June, Moscow sent planes and air defense systems to Qamishli as way of a continuation of the military aid provided at the request of the Syrian government back in 2015 aimed at fighting the terrorist threat.
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