Conflicting Reports Emerge on Heavy Weapons Withdrawal From Idlib ‘Buffer Zone’https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/1412661/conflicting-reports-emerge-heavy-weapons-withdrawal-idlib-%E2%80%98buffer-zone%E2%80%99
Conflicting Reports Emerge on Heavy Weapons Withdrawal From Idlib ‘Buffer Zone’
Smoke rising from the countryside of Latakia after artillery shelling by regime forces on Sunday, September 30, 2018. (Step Agency)
Beirut, London- Asharq Al-Awsat
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Conflicting Reports Emerge on Heavy Weapons Withdrawal From Idlib ‘Buffer Zone’
Smoke rising from the countryside of Latakia after artillery shelling by regime forces on Sunday, September 30, 2018. (Step Agency)
Conflicting reports have emerged on whether Syrian opposition factions have started to withdraw their heavy weapons from a buffer zone agreed between Turkey and Russia on the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib.
On September 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to set up a demilitarized zone about 15 to 20 kilometers wide skirting Idlib.
"There have been no withdrawals of heavy weapons from any area or any front. This report is denied, completely denied," National Liberation Front (NLF) spokesman Naji Mustafa said.
His comments came after Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced Sunday morning that Faylaq al-Sham began withdrawing its heavy weapons under the Turkish-Russian agreement.
The group is the first to comply with a requirement to leave the demilitarized buffer zone set up to avert a Russian-backed Syrian army offensive, said Observatory head Rami Abdulrahman.
“The group is withdrawing its forces and heavy arms in small batches from southern Aleppo countryside, adjacent to Idlib province, which is part of the demilitarized zone towards the west,” he added.
Faylaq al-Rahman includes between 8,500 and 10,000 fighters and is one of the factions of NLF, which was established in August with the support of Ankara in Idlib and neighboring areas that fall under the control of fighting factions in Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia, he explained.
Failaq al-Sham is the third largest group among the opposition factions in northwest Syria, according to the monitor.
"There have been no changes in the location of weapons or redistribution of fighters, even as we remain committed to the agreement reached in (the Russian resort of) Sochi,” Failaq al-Sham’s Media Officer Sayf al-Raad told AFP.
Under the agreement, all factions in the planned buffer area must hand over their heavy weapons by October 10 and radical groups must withdraw by October 15.
The deal was welcomed by world powers, aid organizations and the United Nations, which all hoped it would help avoid a bloody military assault on the area.
Formerly US-backed opposition group Jaish al-Izza rejected the deal on Saturday.
"We are against this deal, which eats into liberated (opposition-held) areas and bails out Bashar al-Assad," its head Jamil al-Saleh told AFP.
US Senators Introduce Legislation to Repeal Syria's Caesar Acthttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5156359-us-senators-introduce-legislation-repeal-syrias-caesar-act
Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani (2nd L) looks on as US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack raises the flag of the United States at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus, Syria, May 29, 2025. (AFP)
US Senators Introduce Legislation to Repeal Syria's Caesar Act
Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani (2nd L) looks on as US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack raises the flag of the United States at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus, Syria, May 29, 2025. (AFP)
US Senators Democrat Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Rand Paul introduced on Thursday a bill repealing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019.
“The legislation reflects a growing recognition that while the Caesar Act achieved its goal of isolating the Assad regime, it now risks obstructing Syria’s path toward stability, democracy and reconstruction,” they said in a joint statement.
“Repealing the Caesar Act would end broad-based economic sanctions while preserving US tools to hold Syrian officials accountable,” it added.
The act was named after a defector from the Syrian army, who smuggled thousands of photos that document the torture and violations committed in Syrian prisons. It was designed to hold the Assad regime and its backers to account for their war crimes and human rights violations.
“The Syrian people have a generational opportunity to write a new chapter for their country and the entire Middle East,” said Shaheen. “For too long, the brutal Assad dictatorship, propped up by our adversaries Iran and Russia, has ruled with an iron fist. And for too long, the Syrian people have endured a devastating civil war to rid themselves of this oppression.”
“We can keep the new Syrian authorities accountable without decimating the economy. Sustained diplomatic engagement can yield tremendous results,” she stressed.
“I look forward to working with Special Envoy Thomas Barrack to support the Syrian people’s aspirations for democracy, stability and security,” she added.
For his part, Paul said: “For years, I’ve opposed broad sanctions that hurt innocent people more than the regimes they target. While the Caesar Act was intended to isolate the Assad regime, it has ended up punishing everyday Syrians, fueling poverty, crippling recovery, and blocking progress toward peace.”
Senator Rand Paul pauses to speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. (AP)
“This repeal is about restoring a more targeted, principled approach that holds bad actors accountable without inflicting unnecessary suffering on the very people we claim to support,” he stated.
Matthew Levitt, Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute, said it was logical to end the Caesar Act after the reasons for its adoption are no more.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that it was enacted to tackle the grave human rights violations committed in the Assad regime’s prisons. With the ouster of the regime, there is no need to keep it in place.
Pressure
Meanwhile, Dr. Murhaf Ibrahim, head of the Alawite Association of the United States, said it was important to bolster Syrian-American ties on all levels, to lift sanctions and for the United States to display political and economic openness towards Syria.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said that in order to boost these ties, they must align with American values related to diversity, democracy, decentralization in state management and respect of human rights.
So far, the government of Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has not committed to these principles, he stressed.
He called on the US Congress to hold the government to account over its pledges to address violations and hold their perpetrators responsible.
It must also review the political and constitutional measures it has taken so far and that have sparked criticism because they do not represent the entire Syrian population, he went on to say.
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen speaks during a press conference with fellow Democratic senators calling on the Trump administration to continue Medicare drug price negotiations on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 22, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian-American lobby
Ahed al-Hendi, Senior Fellow at the Center for Peace Communications in Washington, underlined the importance of the legislation because it was issued by the Senate, which first enacted the Ceasar Act, not the president.
Action by the Congress demonstrates the existence of Syrian-American lobby that did not make do with pledges made by the American administration, he said. Rather, it is working hard to secure bipartisan support to turn President Donald Trump’s words in Riyadh into political and legislative action in Washington.
Even though the administration has still not shaped a clear policy on Syria, the removal of the Caesar Act will help open a new chapter in relations and deliver a clear message that the lifting of sanctions is a necessary step in Syria’s reconstruction, he added.
It will also underscore government efforts to consolidate civil peace, respect minorities and avert regional escalation, he said.
Syrian activist Ayman Abdelnour said the removal of the Caesar Act will no doubt revive Syria and push forward reconstruction efforts.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that lifting the sanctions will allow the American administration to assess the performance of the new Syrian government on the political, economic and social levels.
