The Syrian army announced on Sunday the closure of airspace over Idlib, saying it will down any aircraft that breaches its airspace.
“The command of the armed forces declares closure of airspace for planes and other aircraft over northwestern Syria and especially the Idlib province. All planes violating our airspace will be considered hostile and shot down to prevent them from fulfilling [their] objectives,” the command said in a statement as quoted by state-run SANA news agency.
A military source told SANA that the “Turkish regime’s forces are continuing to carry out hostile acts against our armed forces which are operating in Idlib province and its surroundings whether through targeting our soldiers who are facing terrorists directly, or through providing all forms of support to the armed organizations which are on the list of terrorism according to the international law.”
The source added that “based on the adherence of the Syrian Arab Army to its constitutional and national duties in defending the sovereignty of the state and protecting its security and territorial integrity, the Army and Armed Forces General Command announces closing the airspace for flights and for any drones over the northwestern region in Syria, particularly over Idlib province.”
Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency claimed Sunday that a Syrian government plane had been downed in Idlib.
SANA denied the report and said that the Syrian army had downed a Turkish drone over the strategic city of Saraqib, which lies on the intersection of the M5 and M4 highways.
Source: SANA