The last time the US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria conducted air and artillery strikes against pro-regime forces in Syria, in the oil-rich Deir Ezzor region, was on Feb. 7, when hundreds of pro-regime fighters were killed, the largest number of "pro-regime" casualties inflicted by the US-led coalition in one attack. The coalition described its action as carried out in "self defense", while the Syrian state news agency SANA described the action as an "aggression" by the coalition against "popular forces" who were fighting ISIS and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
In a bombshell update one week later, it was revealed that among the casualties were hundreds of Russian mercenaries working on behalf of the Assad regime, and hired by the Wagner PMC (Private Military Group) - a shadowy organization often referred to as Russia's answer to Blackwater. Adding to the mystery, is that the Wagner Group is believed to be funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a rich businessman close to President Vladimir Putin and also known as "Putin's Chef." Prigozhin was
recently sanctioned by the US due to his links to the eastern Ukraine separatists.
Unnamed US intelligence sources
quoted by the Washington Post said Prigozhin was in close contact with the Kremlin in the run-up to the Feb 7 assault on the Syrian Democratic Forces base in Deir Ezzor region.
Comment: It is a problem not just for children in the region, but for the whole of Syria, Turkey, and even the prospect of a global stable and peaceful future, that Erdogan is a bit unhinged. Public displays aside, he has been quite erratic in his behavior and strategy on the Syrian conflict. Hopefully Russian diplomacy will have a positive effect on this loose cannon. See:
The struggle for Afrin: Syria, Turkey, Russia and the Kurds