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BEIRUT (AP) – A group of Syrian rebels said Sunday that it would not withdraw its fighters from front-line positions in the disputed province of Idlib, in the north-west of the country, where Russia and Turkey agreed to create a demilitarized zone this month to avoid an offensive overflow of Syrian government forces.
Failaq al-Sham, one of the main factions backed by Turkey in northern Syria, also said that one of the conditions of the Russia-Turkey agreement – aimed at that the Rebel groups remove heavy weapons from the area – no sense as it does not have such weapons. The.
"We will leave in this buffer zone all the necessary to counter any treason or aggression such as anti-armor weapons," the group said.
The agreement between Turkey and Russia provides for the withdrawal of all members of Syrian radical groups from the demilitarized zone, as well as the withdrawal of tanks, armored vehicles and rebel artillery weapons.
The demilitarized zone should be established by 15 October. It will cover a distance of about 15 to 20 kilometers, with Russian troops and Turkey, a member of NATO, carrying out coordinated patrols in the area.
But Failaq al-Sham also said that he would not accept any Russian patrol in rebel-held areas once the agreement came into effect.
The group's statement may further complicate matters for the Russia-Turkey agreement. The statement was issued hours after the British-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported that Failaq al-Sham had begun withdrawing some of its heavy weapons and evacuating some of its positions in the province. adjacent to Aleppo, which borders Idlib.
On Saturday, another rebel group, Jaysh al-Ezzah, also expressed reservations about the deal that averted a government offensive in the province of Idlib, the last major stronghold of the Syrian opposition.
Jaysh al-Ezzah said that demilitarized zones should not be established only in rebel areas, but also in areas under government control. The group also said that Turkey should ensure that the Idlib agreement does not end as last year's de-escalation zones in central and southern Syria, where the areas controlled by the rebels were then simply taken over by government forces.
Last week, two jihadist groups in Idlib – Horas al-Din, linked to al-Qaeda, in Arabic means "Guardians of Religion" and Ansar al-Din, or "Supporters of Religion" – have rejected the okay, calling it a "big conspiracy."
However, the main group related to al-Qaeda – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a member of the Levant Arab Liberation Committee – who is also the largest group of Idlib, has not yet announced its position regarding the demilitarized zone.
