Bloody clashes took place in the south of Idlib, Syria, hours after the start of the implementation of the ceasefire agreement reached by Russia and Turkey with the aim of ending the fighting in the last enclave controlled by armed factions.
In detail, a source in the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a source in the opposition said that the clashes took place in the Jabal al-Zawiyah area between the Syrian army and armed factions. The observatory said that this resulted in the death of 15 people.
Residents said the violence had subsided elsewhere, but the clashes highlighted the fragility of the agreement between Russia and Turkey.
The ceasefire agreement aims to contain a conflict that has displaced nearly a million people within three months in northwestern Syria.
Previous agreements to end the fighting in Idlib collapsed. Analysts and residents have expressed fears that the latest deal will meet the same fate.
"This agreement was not formulated in a way that guarantees its continuation, but in a way that makes it doomed to fail," said Gallip Dalai, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Unfortunately, in the not-too-distant future.
He continued «any arrangement for a cease-fire in Idlib, unless it includes a no-fly zone, will be doomed to failure. Previous agreements never led to a reduction in the escalation, but rather froze the crisis until the next escalation.
The latest fighting sparked a crisis the United Nations described as possibly the worst so far in the war that has displaced millions of people from their homes and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands.
Russia has repeatedly played down any talk of a refugee crisis and accused Turkey of violating international law after pushing troops and equipment into Idlib since early last month. About 60 Turkish soldiers have been killed since then.
While Damascus has not yet commented on the agreement, the official news agency, SANA, for its part, reported that "calm prevailed in the operations hubs." She stressed that "the army units are ready to respond strongly to any attempted breach by terrorist organizations," which Damascus accuses Ankara of supporting.
The ceasefire agreement provides for the establishment of a security corridor that extends six kilometers to the north and south of the M4 highway linking east and west of Idlib, and where joint Russian-Turkish patrols will begin on March 15, which effectively enhances Russia's presence in northern Idlib.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he hopes the agreement will be a "good basis for stopping military activity in the de-escalation zone in Idlib."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the two sides will work together to provide aid to the Syrians who need it, but added that Turkey reserves the right to "respond to all attacks by the Syrian forces in the field."
Residents and fighters in the area stated that the front lines, which witnessed intense air strikes by Russian and Syrian aircraft, artillery strikes, and Turkish drones, were calm in most of the area after the ceasefire took effect.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the first eight hours of the ceasefire passed in relative calm, and that the atmosphere was clear of Syrian and Russian warplanes since midnight on Thursday.
A Syrian TV reporter from Saraqeb, which the Syrian army recovered last week, said that sites on the front lines are being strengthened.
Dozens demonstrated in the town of Kafr Takharim in the northwestern countryside of Idlib, yesterday, to protest against the agreement not including the return of the displaced to their homes.
Yesterday, European Union foreign ministers cautiously welcomed the ceasefire, describing it as an essential first step in delivering much-needed humanitarian aid.
Joseph Burrell, the European Union's foreign policy coordinator, who chaired an emergency meeting in Zagreb to discuss the situation in Syria, said the ceasefire agreement showed "goodwill", even though it remains to wait to see how it can work.
"This is a prerequisite for increasing humanitarian aid to the Idlib population," Borrell added.
German Foreign Minister Haikou Maas expressed cautious optimism after agreeing to a cease-fire in Idlib, which would prevent Turkey and Russia from escalating the situation on the Syrian border.
"Both sides have no interest in this conflict becoming a Russian-Turkish," Mas said in comments to Radio Germany before the European Union foreign ministers meeting in Zagreb.
Mas said that it is now important to adhere to this long-awaited agreement, explaining that by adhering to the ceasefire, relief organizations will be able to help people in Idlib, and said: "This will be a very positive development," adding that the United Nations is now starting talks with the parties on ways Aid delivery.
On the other hand, new clashes erupted briefly yesterday on the Greek-Turkish border between the Greek police, who fired tear gas canisters and the migrants who threw stones at them, a week after Ankara announced the opening of the borders to the immigrants wishing to go to Europe.
- New clashes on the Turkish-Greek border between the immigrants and the Greek police.
The “European Minister”: A cease-fire is an essential first step for delivering humanitarian aid.