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)
Smoke rising from the countryside of Latakia after artillery shelling by regime forces on Sunday, September 30, 2018. (Step Agency)
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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)
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.



Jordanian Government: Supporting Palestine Should Not Come at Expense of National Stability

Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication Mohammad Momani (X)
Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication Mohammad Momani (X)
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Jordanian Government: Supporting Palestine Should Not Come at Expense of National Stability

Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication Mohammad Momani (X)
Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication Mohammad Momani (X)

Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication Mohammad Momani said on Saturday that supporting the Palestinian cause should not come at the expense of his country’s national stability but should be expressed through unity behind the Hashemite leadership, the Arab Army, and the security agencies.

Momani stressed that King Abdullah II’s positions in defending Palestinian rights and supporting steadfastness in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza remain firm, employing all political, diplomatic, and humanitarian tools, according to Jordan’s official news agency, Petra.

Momani, who is also the government spokesperson, said Jordan’s position on Palestine is clear and unwavering, centered on the right of Palestinians to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He also stressed that Jordan’s support stems from religious, moral, and humanitarian obligations and that the creation of a Palestinian state is a vital national interest for Jordan.

On April 15, Jordan announced the arrest of 16 people for allegedly planning to target national security and sow “chaos.”

Amman said the suspects were arrested for “manufacturing rockets using local tools as well as tools imported for illegal purposes, possession of explosives and firearms, concealing a rocket ready to be deployed, planning to manufacture drones, and recruiting and training operatives in Jordan as well as training them abroad.”

Later, Interior Minister Mazen Fraya said Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood.

Fraya said all the activities of the group would be banned and anyone promoting its ideology would be held accountable by law.

The ban includes publishing anything by the group and closure and confiscation of all its offices and property, he added.