MOSCOW. April 11 (Interfax-AVN) - Syrian army units continue to expand a safe area around Palmyra, Russian Armed Forces General Staff's Main Operational Directorate chief Sergei Rudskoi said.
"The Syrian armed forces' offensive has forced militants to retreat and abandon commanding heights. The government forces have taken control of over 230 square kilometers of area this month," Rudskoi said at a news briefing on Tuesday.
Russian mine disposal experts "are clearing ancient Palmyra of mines and highly explosive objects," the general said.
"Twenty-one socially important facilities, including ten schools, nine mosques and two outpatient clinics have been demined for now. As many as 1,894 buildings and residential houses have been checked on an area of 1,135 hectares, 115 kilometers of roads, over 5,000 highly explosive objects and improvised explosive devices have been defused," Rudskoi said.