MESOPOTAMIA NEWS FOCUS : SYRIA – IDLIB – TODAYS UPDATE – IDLIB REBELS – WE WILL COOPERATE WITH DEMILITARIZED ZONE
23 Sept 2018 – MESOP NEWS – SFP Rebel factions in Idlib Province in northwest Syria have said they will cooperate with a demilitarized zone agreed between Turkey and Russia. Following a meeting between Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin last Monday, Ankara and Moscow declared the 15 to 20 km (9 to 12.5 mile) zone between opposition- and regime-held areas in Idlib and northern Hama Provinces.
Turkey has had forces inside the area since August 2016 while Russia is an essential ally of the Assad regime. Turkish objections, supported by a ring of 12 observation posts, prevented a Russian-regime offensive on Idlib and its 3 million residents this summer.
The National Liberation Front, including Free Syrian Army factions, announced on Saturday “our complete cooperation with the Turkish ally in making their effort succeed in sparing civilians the calamities of war”.
The NLF added that it will retain its weapons.
We remain cautious and alert to any treachery by the Russians, the regime, and the Iranians, especially after the issuance of statements by them that indicate this agreement is temporary.Our finger will remain on the trigger and we will not forgo our weapons or our land or our revolution.
Under the Turkish-Russian agreement, the jihadist bloc Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham — which seized much of Idlib from rebels in 2017 — is to be removed from the demilitarized zone. It is unclear if all or some rebel factions must withdraw.Putin has said that all opposition heavy weapons, mortars, tanks, and rocket systems are to be taken out of the zone by October 10. But Turkey has said the “moderate opposition” will keep its weapons and remain in the areas it holds, as the region “cleared of radicals”. www.mesop.de