A MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle prepares to land after a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
Drones of the United States-led coalition in Syria violated flight safety protocols 315 times in June, deputy head of Russia’s Center for Reconciliation in Syria, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, said on July 1.
“There are continued gross violations of the deconflicting protocols and the bilateral Memorandum on Flight Safety in Syria by the US-led so-called international coalition. The violations are deliberate and systematic, and their number has increased significantly compared with last year. In June 2023, there were 315 cases of violations related to flights of drones and ‘coalition’ aviation,” the commander said.
In the last day of June, coalition drones violated the safety protocols five times, according to a previous statement by Gurinov.
U.S. drone operations over Syria are not limited to the areas controlled by the coalition and its proxies in the northeastern region and the southeastern area of al-Tanf. The operations also cover areas occupied by the Turkish military in the northeastern region as well as the northwestern region of Greater Idlib, which is controlled by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and other terrorist groups.
In the past, U.S. drones were also spotted over the government-held central region, where ISIS cells have been waging an insurgency for a few years now.
While the U.S. says that its operations in Syria are directed against terrorist groups, coalition drones may be in fact collecting intelligence on Syrian government forces and their allies, including the Russian military, during uncoordinated flights.
Coalition drones were targeted over Syria in the past. On 17 March 2015, a U.S. MQ-1 Predator combat drone was shot down by Syrian air defenses while on an intelligence flight over the coastal city of Latakia. Another drone, a RQ-21 Blackjack, was reportedly shot down by Russian air defenses off the coast of Tartus city on 27 May 2017.
Unlike U.S.-led coalition operations, the Russian military deployment in Syria is sanctioned by the legitimate government in Damascus.
Tensions between Russian and U.S. forces in Syria have been mounting since Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine last year. However, a direct clash between the two powers in the war-torn country remains highly unlikely.
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