MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/: A pontoon bridge across the Euphrates river has been restored by the Syrian army’s engineering units with the assistance of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the confllicting sides in Syria, the center’s chief Viktor Kupchishin said on Monday.
"The Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting parties helped engineering units of the Syrian army to restore a pontoon bridge across the Euphrates. The bridge has made it possible to resume transport service within the provinca and deliver humanitarian cargoes, food and medicines in a shorter time," he said, adding that the bridge can be used by trucks with building materials to restore infrastructure and social facilities on the Euphrates left bank.
Kupchishin also said that the Syrian authorities continue amnestying people who dodged military service, including refugees and former members of illegal armed groups. Thus, as of May 19, 2019, as many as 57,981 people were amnestied, he added.
Apart from that, refugees continue to return home. "On May 19, as many as 208 refugees managed to leave the Rukban camp via the humanitarian corridor and the Jleb checkpoint," he said. In all, a total of 12,967 people have left the Rukban camp via the Jleb checkpoint for the territory controlled by the Syrian authorities, he noted.
He also said that militants operating in the Idlib de-escalation zone continue to violate the ceasefire. "During the day, shelling attacks by militants were reported from the settlements of Nahshebba (twice), Jubb al-Mgara (twice), Ain al-Qantara, Roisset Rushu, Muqattal, Kara Jagez, Ruyesset Iskander, Qalaz Tahtani and Tell al-Tut in the Latakia governorate, and Huaiz, Jubbain and Hamamiyat in the Hama governorate," he said.
The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.
