In Line with Russian Understanding, Türkiye Withdraws from Checkpoint on Syria’s M4 Highway

Turkish and Russian soldiers in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Turkish and Russian soldiers in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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In Line with Russian Understanding, Türkiye Withdraws from Checkpoint on Syria’s M4 Highway

Turkish and Russian soldiers in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Turkish and Russian soldiers in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Turkish forces have started withdrawing from a military checkpoint south of the M4 highway connecting Syria’s Aleppo and Latakia governorates in preparation of the implementation of Russian-Turkish agreements.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Turkish forces moved cement blocks from the Turkish checkpoint in Qaston town in the Sahl Al-Ghab area in the northwestern Hama countryside towards the northern checkpoint.

The military Qaston checkpoint is located a few kilometers away from regime checkpoints in Jurin district.

The withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Sahl Al-Ghab area facilitates the access to the M4 highway and control over Jisr Al-Shughor city, noted the Observatory.

Turkish moves in Idlib to open the highway started recently and come as part of the implementation of an MoU signed with Russia in March 2020.

This could signal the first actual step for progress in the path of normalization of ties between Ankara and the Syrian regime under Russian sponsorship.

After a defense ministers’ meeting in Moscow on December 28, Ankara began to focus on reopening the M4 highway.

Reopening the highway was also discussed during normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus.

According to Syrian opposition sources and media reports, Türkiye wants to share supervision of the M4 with Russia and the Syrian regime.

At the present time, Syrian regime forces control most of the M4, but Türkiye and its loyalist factions are still running a small portion of the highway.

In an MoU signed on March 5, 2020, Russia and Türkiye agreed to establish a secure corridor near the highway, which runs east to west through Idlib, and hold joint patrols along the route.

They said the corridor would stretch 6 km to the north and 6 km to the south of the M4.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
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Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.