SARAQIB, Syria: Turkish troop reinforcements entered Syria’s rebel bastion of Idlib on Tuesday, an AFP correspondent reported, a week after a deal between Ankara and Moscow averted a government offensive.
Around 35 military vehicles traveled south down the main highway near the town of Saraqib after midnight.
The convoy was accompanied by pro-Ankara rebels of the National Liberation Front (NLF), who control part of the enclave on the Turkish border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the forces deployed to several Turkish positions around the northwestern province.
Since last year, Turkish troops have manned 12 monitoring positions in the rebel zone under a de-escalation agreement between Turkey, Russia and fellow regime ally Iran.
Last week, Ankara and Moscow announced a new agreement for a demilitarized zone along the horse-shoe shaped front line between the rebels and government troops.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, a jihadist alliance led by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, controls more than half of the rebel zone, while NLF fighters hold sway over most of the rest.
The agreement gives Turkey the responsibility to ensure that all fighters in the planned demilitarized zone hand over their heavy weapons by October 10 and that the more radical among them withdraw by October 15.
The agreement also provides for Turkish and Russian troops patrol the buffer zone.
Last week, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey would have to send reinforcements to provide the numbers needed to conduct the patrols.
The Syrian civil war has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Turkey sends reinforcements to Syria’s Idlib
Turkey sends reinforcements to Syria’s Idlib
- Around 35 military vehicles traveled south down the main highway near the town of Saraqib after midnight
- The convoy was accompanied by pro-Ankara rebels of the National Liberation Front
Syrian authorities arrest member of elite army unit linked to Assad’s brother
- 4th Armoured Division has been accused of human rights violations and drug smuggling during Syria’s civil war
LONDON: Syrian authorities arrested Nidal Ali Suleiman, a former member of an elite military unit during the regime of Bashar Assad, the Interior Ministry announced on Sunday.
Internal security forces in the Al-Ghab area, in coordination with the Anti-Terror Branch in Hama, arrested Suleiman, who is suspected of involvement in fighting in the Hama region. He is also accused of smuggling weapons to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and taking part in drug trafficking activities.
The 4th Armoured Division was an elite formation of the Syrian Arab Army established in the 1980s. From 2018 until the collapse of the Assad regime, the unit was commanded by Maher Assad, brother of the former president. The division has been accused of committing human rights violations, and was involved in drug manufacturing and smuggling during the civil war from 2011 to 2024.
Maher Assad is believed to have fled to Russia following the collapse of the regime.
Since December 2024, the new government in Damascus has arrested several Assad-era army officers for alleged crimes committed against Syrians during the conflict.
Last week, authorities in Hama detained three people accused of involvement in an armed group linked to remnants of the Assad regime.
Authorities said they remain committed to protecting citizens, maintaining civil peace, and enforcing the law against anyone who jeopardizes the security and stability of the country, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
