MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Militants have shelled 18 settlements in the Syrian provinces of Latakia, Aleppo and Hama in the past 24 hours, Major General Alexey Bakin, the chief of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting sides in Syria, told reporters on Wednesday.

"Over the past 24 hours, militants shelled Benjamin and Makanis-al-Duwairi in Aleppo province; Huaiz, Jubbayn, Qorqad, Qara Djrun, Sharia, Kafr Nbuda, Qalaat-al-Madiq in Hama province; Ardash Daq, Bait Djnauro, Sandran, al-Safsafah, Qara Galia, Joubb al-Ahmar, Qalaat-Marza, Jurin and Ayn al-Qantarah in Latakia province," Bakin said.

The Russian reconciliation center calls on the commanders of illegal armed groups to cease hostilities and to embark on a path of peaceful reconciliation in the areas under their control, he added.

The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill the tasks assigned to them after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. They regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on aiding the refugees who are returning to their homes and evacuating civilians from the war-torn country’s de-escalation zones.