AMMAN: Syrian rebels said on Thursday they have growing confidence that their jihadist rivals will comply with a requirement to leave a demilitarized buffer zone set up by Turkey and Russia to avert a Russian-backed Syrian army offensive.
Last week Turkey and Russia agreed to enforce a new demilitarized zone in Idlib province from which “radical” rebels will be required to withdraw by the middle of next month.
The position of the biggest jihadist group, Tahrir Al-Sham, spearheaded by Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian offshoot, will be crucial to the deal’s success, but it has so far said nothing.
Several rebel sources said neither jihadist nor mainstream rebels had started to pull back yet.
However, a senior Syrian opposition official said Tahrir Al-Sham had sent secret feelers to the Turkish army though third parties in recent days signaling it would comply.
“Matters are moving well and Tahrir Al-Sham has pledged it is going to implement but without announcing its agreement,” said the opposition official, who was briefed by Turkish officials and requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The demilitarized zone will be 15 to 20 km (10 to 12 miles) deep, run along the contact line between rebel and government fighters, and will be patrolled by Turkish and Russian forces. The agreement could unravel quickly if they cannot impose their plan on the jihadists.
Another senior opposition figure said he expected Tahrir Al-Sham to implement the deal and dismissed risks of a showdown because the agreement did not seek to force jihadist fighters to hand over their weapons.
“I foresee it will be implemented within the time set,” said Ahmed Toma, a prominent opposition figure who headed the Syrian rebel delegation in Russian-sponsored talks in the Kazakh capital.
Turkey sought to avert the Syrian army’s Idlib offensive, fearing a new exodus of refugees as the UN warned of a humanitarian catastrophe. Ankara pledged to Moscow it would handle the jihadist threat.
A regional intelligence source said the jihadists were softening their stance to avoid internecine fighting with mainstream rebels that could wreck the deal and allow the stalled offensive to resume.
“I don’t expect any hurdles in implementation from all the revolutionary forces at all,” said Abdul Salam Abdul Razzak, a leading figure in the National Front for Liberation, the alliance of Turkey-allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel groups.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with Reuters late on Tuesday that the withdrawal of “radical groups” had already started.
Another senior rebel source said months of covert Turkish intelligence efforts were focusing on separating a minority of foreign jihadists within Tahrir Al-Sham from a majority of its Syrian followers, who could eventually be rehabilitated.
Precision strikes would help to handle foreign jihadists, whose presence has often been cited by the Syrian army and Russia as the reason for an assault on Idlib as a “terrorist nest,” the source said.
The National Front for Liberation, which had declared its “complete cooperation” with the Turkish effort, said it foresaw a smooth operation once logistical preparations with Turkey were concluded.
“Pulling heavy arms from the frontline is not a difficult matter as most of these weapons are deployed away from the frontline,” Abdul Razzak said, adding the group’s only concern was whether the Syrian army and its allies would abide by the deal.
Syria rebels think jihadists will quit Idlib buffer zone
Syria rebels think jihadists will quit Idlib buffer zone
- The position of the biggest jihadist group, Tahrir Al-Sham, spearheaded by Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian offshoot, will be crucial to the deal’s success, but it has so far said nothing
- Another senior opposition figure said he expected Tahrir Al-Sham to implement the deal and dismissed risks of a showdown because the agreement did not seek to force jihadist fighters to hand over their weapons
Iran says to keep ‘military advisers’ in Syria
TEHRAN: Iran said on Monday that it plans to keep military advisers in Syria after its ally’s second city Aleppo was overrun by militants in a surprise offensive.
The Islamic republic, which has backed President Bashar Assad since Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011, says it only deploys military advisers in the country at the invitation of Damascus.
“We entered Syria many years ago at the official invitation of the Syrian government, when the Syrian people faced the threat of terrorism,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaeil.
“Our military advisers were present in Syria, and they are still present” and would remain in the country “in accordance with the wishes” of its government, he told a news conference in Tehran.
Baqaeil did not specify whether or not Iran would be increasing its forces in Syria in the wake of the lightning militant offensive.
His remarks come a day after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Assad in Damascus to show support for the Syrian president.
Aleppo fell to an Islamist-dominated militant alliance over the course of the past week, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
Syrian and Russian air forces strike Aleppo’s eastern countryside
CAIRO: Syrian and Russian air forces were striking militant-held positions in Aleppo’s eastern countryside, killing and wounding dozens of insurgents, according to a statement from the Syrian Prime Minister’s office on Monday.
Russia said it continues to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is analysing the situation on the ground after Islamist insurgents and other rebel groups seized territory in Syria.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday Russia would form its position based on unfolding events.
Meanwhile, Kurdish YPG forces began pulling out of areas under their control in the northeastern sector of Aleppo city under a deal with militant forces, sources and a resident said on Monday.
The deal to pull out of Sheikh Maqsoud and Bustan al Basha and other areas in the city allows civilians to leave to areas in northeast Syria under Kurdish control, the sources told Reuters.
Lebanon army says Israeli drone hits post in east, wounding soldier
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said an Israeli drone strike wounded one of its soldiers in the eastern region of Hermel on Monday, the latest such raid since an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire last week.
“An enemy drone struck an army bulldozer at a position, injuring one soldier,” the army said, five days after a ceasefire ended more than a year of war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group.
Pro-Iranian militias enter Syria from Iraq to aid beleaguered Syrian army
AMMAN: Iranian-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and were heading to northern Syria to beef up beleaguered Syrian army forces battling insurgents, according to two Syrian army sources.
Dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi Hashd al Shaabi fighters from Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near Al Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian army source told Reuters.
“These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north,” the officer said, adding the militias included Iraq’s Katiab Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups.
Iran sent thousands of Shiite militias to Syria during the Syrian war and, alongside Russia with its air power, enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad to crush the insurgency and regain most of his territory.
A lack of that manpower to help thwart the militant onslaught in recent days contributed to the speedy retreat of Syrian army forces and withdrawal from Aleppo city, according to two other army sources. Militias allied to Iran, led by Hezbollah, have a strong presence in the Aleppo area.
Israel has also in recent months stepped up its strikes on Iranian bases in Syria while also waging an offensive in Lebanon which it says has weakened Hezbollah and its military capabilities.
GCC leaders call for halt to war crimes in Gaza, end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
- The leaders stressed their firm support for the Palestinian cause and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital
- The ‘Kuwait Declaration,’ issued at the 45th session of the GCC Supreme Council, praised the growing role of Gulf countries in addressing regional, global challenges
RIYADH: Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council on Sunday called for an end to Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the displacement of the region’s population, and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The leaders stressed their firm support during a meeting in Kuwait for the Palestinian cause and its sovereignty over all Palestinian territories occupied since June 1967, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The “Kuwait Declaration,” which was issued at the 45th session of the Supreme Council of the GCC, praised the growing role of Gulf countries in addressing regional and global political, security, and economic challenges.
It also praised their contribution to resolving issues that threatened peace, security, and stability, and for enhancing international dialogue and communication between countries.
A statement said: “The Supreme Council called for an end to the killings and collective punishment in Gaza, the displacement of the population, and the destruction of civilian facilities and infrastructure, including health facilities, schools, and places of worship, in clear violation of international law and international humanitarian law.”
GCC leaders also welcomed the resolutions of the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in November to enhance international action to stop the war on Gaza; achieve permanent and comprehensive peace; implement the two-state solution in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative; mobilize support for recognizing the State of Palestine; and lead the international coalition to implement the two-state solution.
They also praised Qatar’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and exchange detainees.
The leaders condemned continued Israeli aggression on Lebanon and warned against the expansion of the conflict in the region. They also welcomed the recently brokered ceasefire in the country.
The leaders also welcomed continued efforts made by Saudi Arabia and Oman to revive the political process in Yemen.
The leaders stressed the peaceful approach of GCC countries and their preference for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all disputes in the region and beyond, in accordance with the requirements of international law and the UN Charter.
