Turkish Forces Evacuate New Post East of Idlib

 File photo. A Turkish military convoy is seen parked near the town of Batabu on the highway linking Idlib to the Syrian Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey [Aaref Watad/AFP]
File photo. A Turkish military convoy is seen parked near the town of Batabu on the highway linking Idlib to the Syrian Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey [Aaref Watad/AFP]
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Turkish Forces Evacuate New Post East of Idlib

 File photo. A Turkish military convoy is seen parked near the town of Batabu on the highway linking Idlib to the Syrian Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey [Aaref Watad/AFP]
File photo. A Turkish military convoy is seen parked near the town of Batabu on the highway linking Idlib to the Syrian Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey [Aaref Watad/AFP]

Turkish forces started Thursday to withdraw from one of its military posts in the Syrian Al-Sina’a neighborhood, east of Saraqeb city, moving ahead towards their positions near the village of Al-Ruwayh in Jabal al-Zawiya, south of Idlib.

The Turkish move comes in line with the Russian-Turkish agreement, which requires the withdrawal of Turkish forces from posts in regime-held areas in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama.

Turkey has also vacated the strategic Murek and Sher Maghar observation points in north and west Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Also, a large Turkish column has withdrawn from the military post in “Maar Hattat” in regime-controlled areas and headed to Taftnaz military airbase where Turkish forces are stationed.

Meanwhile, Syrian regime forces shelled on Thursday positions in Sfuhen and Al-Fterah villages in the southern countryside of Idlib, but no casualties were reported.

SOHR said regime forces fired several rockets on the villages and towns of Al-Fterah, Kansafra, Sfuhen, Bayanin, and Al-Ruwayha, in the southern countryside of Idlib, which caused material damage.

Separately, Russian and Turkish forces conducted a new joint patrol in the countryside of Ain al-Arab Kobane in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo.

Turkish and Russian vehicles set off from a village bordering Turkey and were set to roam the villages in the eastern countryside of Ain al-Arab, according to SOHR.



Rubio Pledges to Consider Reviewing Terrorist Designations in Call with Syrian FM

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at a press conference with the Indo-Pacific Quad alongside, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (R) and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L) at the State Department in Washington, DC, on July 1, 2025. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at a press conference with the Indo-Pacific Quad alongside, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (R) and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L) at the State Department in Washington, DC, on July 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Rubio Pledges to Consider Reviewing Terrorist Designations in Call with Syrian FM

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at a press conference with the Indo-Pacific Quad alongside, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (R) and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L) at the State Department in Washington, DC, on July 1, 2025. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at a press conference with the Indo-Pacific Quad alongside, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (R) and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L) at the State Department in Washington, DC, on July 1, 2025. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to consider further action to review domestic and United Nations terrorist designations related to Syria in a call with that country's foreign minister on Thursday, the US State Department said in a statement.

Rubio discussed with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani previous US moves to remove sanctions on Syria, and pledged to maintain sanctions on “malign actors,” including Bashar al-Assad, his associates, and others who threaten Syrian and international security, said a State Department statement.

Rubio hoped that “together, these steps will mark the beginning of a new chapter for both the Syrian people and US-Syria relations.”

The officials also discussed other matters of shared concern, including countering terrorism, Iran, Israel-Syria relations, and destroying any remnants of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons program, added the statement.