6 yıl önce

Idlib civilians hope for peace and safety after demilitarised zone deal

Turkey and Russia struck a deal to prevent a Russia-backed regime attack on Syria's last major opposition bastion of Idlib.

AFP

Syrians wave flags of the opposition and of Turkey during a demonstration against the Syrian government in the opposition and rebel-held town of Hazzanu, about 20 kilometres northwest of the city of Idlib, on September 21, 2018.

Syrian civilians have responded positively to the Russia and Turkey deal on demilitarised zones in the besieged opposition and rebel-held enclave of Idlib.

Earlier, Russia and Turkey agreed on the borders of a deweaponised zone around Idlib to try and avoid a Syrian regime offensive in the province. The zone will be some 15 to 20 kilometres deep along the line of contact between the armed opposition and regime troops and will be in place by October 15, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Monday after his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Idlib's residents, desperate for peace after seven years of war, are hopeful the deal will prevent mass bloodshed. They told TRT World they happy for the temporary truce which allows them to keep their loved ones alive and safe.

Emboldened, they are taking to the streets at least once a week against Syrian regime leader Bashar al Assad. Calls for the war to end before anything else is decided can be heard at protests.

However, the militant faction of Huras al Din in Idlib has rejected the Turkish-Russian deal which requires all heavy weapons and militant groups to withdraw from the proposed zone by October 15.

TRT World's Sara Firth has more from Idlib.