Russia’s military has deployed ground forces along the Israeli border, Syria has claimed, establishing a number of “observation points” opposite the Israeli frontier.

On Monday, Syrian state media outlet SANA reported that the Russian army is expanding its presence in southwestern Syria, and that Russian forces are establishing nine observation points on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, adjacent to the Israeli border in the Quneitra area, and along the Jordanian frontier outside Daraa.

Deputy Commander of the Russian forces operating in Syria, General Alexander Rodionov, said in a press statement that the new deployment was part of the Russian army’s existing mission in Syria.

“The forces, in coordination with the Syrian Arab Army, established nine observation points along the disengagement force zone, whose mission is to carry out surveillance operations by air and land,” Rodionov said.

“Everything that is reported in some media outlets other than that is false,” Rodionov continued, denying claims that Russian forces had been withdrawn from Syria and that the deployments along the Israeli frontier were part of a new mission in Syria.

Rodionov noted that Russian forces have been deployed to Syria since 2015, and arrived at the request of the Bashar Assad regime.

Russian forces were dispatched to Syria, beginning in September 2015, to bolster the Assad government during the Syrian civil war, with the declared aim of combating Islamist groups, including the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS) organization.

A Syrian army officer whose identity was not disclosed told SANA that Russia’s deployment near the Israeli border “increases stability and security,” and “helps residents return to their land and lead their normal lives in their villages after being liberated from terrorism.”

Image - Doron Horowitz/Flash90