SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 26 April 2024, Friday |

Missile strikes on Syria oil refineries kill 4: monitor

Missile strikes on makeshift oil refineries in northern Syria killed 4 people and wounded at least 20 others, a war monitor said Saturday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a series of strikes launched from Russian warships and by allied Syrian government forces hit the makeshift refineries in Aleppo province on Friday night, causing a massive blaze in the area controlled by Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies.

The Britain-based monitor “documented the deaths of 4 people, while 24 others sustained various wounds and burns” in the attacks near the town of Jarablus.

Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman said at least 1 Syrian rebel was among the dead.

Rescue workers spent hours trying to put out the fire which spread to nearly 30 oil tankers, according to the war monitor.

Oil installations in Turkey-controlled parts of Aleppo have come under repeated attack in recent months although Moscow and the Syrian regime have not claimed responsibility.

The Observatory reported 2 such missile attacks last month.

In January, unidentified drones also hit oil refineries in Turkish-held areas of Aleppo, causing a massive fire, according to the Observatory.

Syria’s war has killed at least 387,000 people and displaced millions since starting in 2011 with a brutal repression of anti-government protests.

It later evolved into a complex conflict involving jihadists and foreign powers.

Northern neighbor Turkey has seized control of many regions inside Syria in military campaigns against the Islamic State militant group and Kurdish fighters since 2016.

    Source:
  • AFP