Iraq News

Most heavy arms out of planned Syria buffer zone

Extremists and Turkish-backed opposition fighters in Syria's last major opposition stronghold have withdrawn most of their heavy weapons from a planned buffer zone ahead of a Wednesday deadline, AFP reported Tuesday (October 9th).

The pullback is the first major test of a deal brokered by government ally Russia and opposition-backer Turkey last month to avoid what the UN warned would be the appalling humanitarian consequences of a major government offensive.

Under the agreement, all factions have until Wednesday to withdraw heavy weaponry from the 15- to 20-kilometre wide buffer zone, which rings Idlib province and adjacent areas of the northwest.

And by Monday, the buffer zone must be free of all extremists, including those of the region's dominant armed group, the Tahrir al-Sham alliance.

Analysts had expected Ankara to have a difficult time enforcing the September 17th deal but by Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the heavy weapons pullout was near complete.

"The buffer zone is now almost empty of any heavy weapons on the eve of the expiry of the deadline," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Tahrir al-Sham and smaller extremist factions quietly began withdrawing their heavy arms on Saturday in an operation that continued through Monday night, the Observatory said.

The pro-Ankara National Liberation Front said it had completed its weapons pullback on Monday.

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