The AN-26 aircraft of the military transport aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, flying to supply units of the Russian group, evaded a collision with American unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) MQ-9 and MQ-1, following its route in northern Syria. This was announced by the deputy head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, Major General Oleg Egorov on Tuesday, October 4.
"The US—led so-called international anti-terrorist coalition continues to carry out illegal UAV flights in strike gear in the airspace of the Syrian Arab Republic," the statement said.
The incident occurred on October 3 at 07:25 Moscow time.
It is noted that this is not the first case of violation by the US military of the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding on Incident Prevention and Aviation Safety during operations in Syria, which the parties signed on October 20, 2015.
In turn, Pentagon Press Secretary, Brigadier General of the US Air Force Patrick Ryder said on September 22 that the Armed Forces of Russia and the United States maintain regular contacts on Syria. He also added that the airspace in the country is disputed.
The conflict in Syria has been going on since 2011. In 2015, the Russian Armed Forces, at the invitation of Damascus, assisted in the liberation of the country's territory from militants. To date, the Russian military police is helping Damascus.
