The disarmament area witnesses the withdrawal of factions under the cover of darkness and others witness a blackout on their position and their stay and the “jihadi” factions goes around the agreement and bury the weapon and hide it in the buffer area
The area that was decided to be disarmed according to the Russian – Turkish agreement, continues to be marked by uneven attitudes and implementation, where the activists of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights did not monitor any public withdrawals of “Jihadi” groups from the to-be-disarmed area, where these groups control about 70% of this area, in which attempts are being made to persuade all factions in it to hand over their weapons, and activists of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor the “Jihadi” factions creating trenches closed from the top to hide the heavy weapons inside them within the disarmament area in the northern countryside of Latakia, also the rebel and Islamic factions of Ahrar al-Sham, al-Sham Corps, and the 1st and 2nd Sahiliya Divisions have not carried out any withdrawals from their areas of presence in Latakia countryside, and followed the “jihadi” factions in the process of concealing heavy weapons in closed trenches, while it is not known whether Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and other factions have carried out withdrawals of heavy machinery and mortars artilleries during the night hours away from media and announcing, as did the Free Idlib Army Faction and al-Sham Corps Faction of the National Liberation Front, where they have been carrying out successive withdrawals of heavy weapons of cannons and heavy vehicles since the 30th of September 2018, also the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received information about the withdrawal of heavy machineries of the Islamic movement of Ahrar al-Sham and Soqur al-Sham from Maarrat al-Nu’man countryside at the southern countryside of Idlib.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published before sundown of yesterday that Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the areas to be disarmed in accordance with agreement between Turkey and Russia, are witnessing new withdrawals of heavy weapons, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; away from the media and without announcing about what is going on, Al-Sham Corps and the Free Idlib Army tend to withdraw heavy mortars from both eastern and south-eastern countryside of Maarrat Al-Nu’man, and reliable sources confirmed that the withdrawal is being carried out without being announced about, as the 2 factions’ fear of the reaction of the residents and the popular incubator, and for fear of exploiting this action by the “jihadist” groups which are in control of more than 70% of the area to be disarmed in the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, Idlib and latakia.
Also, reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that heavy vehicles of Al-Sham Corps were watched in the countryside of Jarjnaz area, and they are not known whether they brought out from the to-be-disarm area, or they were already outside it, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 30th of September 2018, that an Islamic corps close to Turkey has begun the process of withdrawing its forces from areas in which the disarmament process will take place; in accordance with the Russian – Turkish agreement, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the Corps is beginning to withdraw its machineries from the to-be-disarmed areas in the coming period, where the withdrawal from this area took place within the southern countryside of Aleppo, which is adjacent to the northern sector of Idlib Province countryside, and the sources confirmed that the Corps is the second in terms of size of its assets among the factions operating on the Syrian ground, and the third power in terms of number of soldiers among the same factions, and it carried out this withdrawal at the request of the Turks, while the withdrawal came after the activists of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on 29th of September 2018, that activists of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights so far have not monitored any withdrawal of any group of factions from their positions and points within the buffer area, which was agreed upon after the Turkish – Russian meeting that took place more than two weeks ago, and 48 hours after the Turkish intelligence meeting with leaders of the factions working in the area, while no heavy weapon withdrawals were carried out until the moment, amid resentment and disaffection among the factions after the Turkish intelligence service told them that the regime forces will not retract any step and will not pull their heavy weapon backwards. In the same context, the Syrian Observatory monitored the factions of Free Idlib Army of the National Liberation Front pulling some of its heavy artilleries like the mortars from Abu Makkah area, which is located within the buffer area, but it is not known why they guns were withdrawn yet; whether it was a start of implementing the Russian – Turkish agreement or not, the activists of the Observatory also monitored Soqur al-Sham faction of the National Liberation Front withdrawing its heavy vehicles like tanks from Jarjanaz area east of Maarrat al-Nu’man city towards Jabal al-Zawiyah, fearing any possible attack from Hayyaat Tahrir on Soqur al-Sham in the area and seizing their heavy weapons, against the backdrop of tension between both parties in the area on Friday evening.
While the Syrian Observatory monitored details of the meeting that took place between the Turks and the faction leaders, where the Syrian Observatory published that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored more details about the meetings which have been conducted between the Turkish Intelligence and factions operating in Idlib province, where reliable sources informed the Syrian Observatory that the Turkish Intelligence has informed the factions that they have to withdraw their heavy weapons to a distance of 15 to 20 km out the demilitarized area on which an agreement was reached between the Turks and the Russians, where Turkish – Russian joint patrols will be deployed in this area, also the Aleppo – Hama Road and Aleppo – Lattakia Road will be opened, while the regime forces will stay stationed at their points and they will not retreat or withdraw their heavy weapons from their current positions, and the Syrian Observatory published hours ago, that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights continues to monitor the areas of the Syrian-Turkish truce in the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia, as well as the areas to be disarmed which extend in the four provinces in a form of 15-km-wide strip, will witness the withdrawal of the regime forces and their allies in addition to the rebel and Islamic factions and “jihadi” groups from half of the width of this strip, of which the “jihadi” groups control over 70% of its area, where activists of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the rebel and Islamic factions and the “jihadist” groups not implementing any withdrawals, not with light, heavy, or even medium weapons, as these factions continue to guard their points, switch guard shifts in the areas itself, monitor the contact lines with the regime forces and their allies, and the Syrian Observatory’s activists have not monitored any movements by the regime forces in terms of withdrawing from these to-be-disarmed areas according to a Russian – Turkish agreement.
Reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that meetings took place and are taking place between factions working in Idlib province and between the Turkish intelligence, about the mechanism of reaching a full consensus and impose the demilitarized area on everyone, and convince the factions which are present in this to-be-disarm area that they must withdraw their weapons to carry out the agreement approved by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Vladimir Putin, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored about 72 hours ago that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the jihadist factions operating in Idlib and the Syrian North and which are in control of about 70% of the Russian – Turkish area that is decided to be established and then disarmed, are continuing to issue statements through which they reject and refuse the Russian – Turkish agreement on establishing a joint demilitarized area, extended from Lattakia Mountains to the south western countryside of Aleppo, where after the National Liberation Front’s statement through which it welcomed the agreement and considering it as “a victory for the Turkish diplomacy”, and Hurras al-Dien’s statement that considered the agreement “a conspiracy by the forces of the international evil and infidelity against the Jihadist Project”, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has received a copy of a statement issued by Ansar Al-Dien Front considering the agreement “a burial of the Shami Revolution and crowning of the disastrous path of Astana” and the statement says:
“(The statement of the Sochi agreement and the completion of burying the Shami Revolution). The Russian Turkish agreement in Sochi, was only a completion and crowning of the disastrous and purposeful path of Astana, and of the other paths that are affiliated to the Shami Revolution, to bury the Revolution and the holy Jihad of its people, through submissive solution which has been paved through: a field reality that participated in the trick of the areas of decreasing the escalation, which led to isolate the areas and eliminate the Jihad and Revolution in it and distribute the areas of influence and benefits between the occupying powers, and to a political reality represented by the writing of the constitution by the occupiers and their puppets until the elections that will reproduce the country of Al-Baath and legalize the occupation”.