Aladdin Arnous-Idlib
By midnight on Tuesday, the deadline set by the Turkish-Russian agreement to set up a buffer zone on the outskirts of Idlib, north-west of Syria, ended with the Syrian opposition factions ending their heavy arms in the back rows.
However, the agreement did not end the pretexts that undermine its success with provocative violations by the Syrian regime. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem did not deter the threat of the invasion of Idlib if the opposition factions did not implement the terms of the agreement.
On the ground, the Syrian armed opposition appears more serious than ever before in dealing with the possible scenarios. Although it has withdrawn its heavy weapon with the guarantee of Turkey and the satisfaction of Russia, it is preparing for what is worse in the face of violations by the Syrian regime forces by repeated shelling of areas in the villages of Hama and Lattakia.
| Abu Hudhayfah said that the National Liberation Front (FNL) has redeployed its forces to ensure its return to its former positions (Al Jazeera Net) |
Redeployment
Spokesman for the National Liberation Front, Captain Naji Abu Hudayfah, told Al-Jazeera Net that the front forces have committed themselves to withdraw heavy weapons to the rear lines in implementation of the agreement.
But he did not hide his doubts about the credibility of the other party, "which has already violated the decisions of Astana and agreements to reduce areas of escalation."
In response to any breach of the agreement by the regime's forces, Abu Hudayfah replied that "our forces, which have increased their numbers, will remain in the buffer zone with their light and medium weapons and engineering equipment.
But efforts to coordinate with the Turkish side to spare the population of the region a humanitarian disaster pointed out by Abu Hudhayfah, did not prevent the fact of the existence of points not agreed between the Turks and Russians, according to the commander of the Free Army Colonel Mustafa Bakkor.
In separate statements to Al-Jazeera Net, Bakhur said that "there are items that have not been agreed upon by the Turkish and Russian parties. They have not yet been announced. The Russians see the Turks as a temporary agreement and complicity in putting pressure on the regime's forces to stop the repeated violations."
| A convoy of Turkish troops on their way to set up an observation post near the town of Eshtarb in the Jisr al-Shughour area in Idlib (Anatolia) |
Turkish patrols
Bakour noted that Turkey will begin in the next few days to conduct joint patrols with the opposition factions along the demilitarized zone, in accordance with the terms of the agreement as a guarantor.
"Russia's silence about the violations gives the impression that they do not want the region, which is expected to witness the return of dozens of displaced people to their towns bordering the lines of contact, is expected in the coming days," he said.
Al-Jazeera Net did not monitor the entry of additional Turkish troops into the region. The second phase of the agreement is expected to be completed by opening the international routes Aleppo-Damascus and Aleppo-Latakia in front of the cargo movement.
Guardians of religion
Despite the outright opposition to the recent Sochi agreement, there were no new positions on the Ansar al-Din front, which had previously issued a statement rejecting the agreement, a clear indication of the success of Turkish efforts to secure the area on the eve of the deadline.
Idlib, the last opposition stronghold in Syria, has about three million people. The Syrian regime launched a massive military campaign to restore it, before the Turkish-Russian agreement succeeded in keeping the city from a humanitarian disaster.