As the agreement between Putin and Erdogan completes its 4th month and after the death of about 180 people, the regime escalates its breaches after Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham imposed its control of the area
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored more violations in the Russian – Turkish truce, where the regime forces targeted several areas in al-Nahr al-Abyad north of Jisr al-Shughur city within the western sector of Idlib province, also the regime forces shelled places in al-Lataminah and KafrZitta areas in the northern sector of the Hama countryside, which caused material damage, but no information about casualties, this came after rocket shelling by the time forces targeted places in the villages of Tal Khaznah and al-Mshirfah and al-Burj in the eastern countryside of Idlib, in conjunction with the opening heavy machineguns’ firer by the regime forces on places in the areas of al-Tamanah, Khwyn and Sukayk in the southeastern countryside of Idlib, also places in Morek town were shelled by the regime forces, also the regime forces targeted areas in KafrZitta town in the northern countryside of Hama, while Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham targeted by the rocket shells sites of the regime forces in Tal Bzam area in the northern sector of Hama countryside, also the regime forces targeted after midnight of yesterday areas in the eastern and southeastern countryside of Idlib.
The escalation of shelling on the 17th of January 2019, came as Putin – Erdogan agreement completed its 4th consecutive month since the agreement was implemented on the 17th of September 2018, after an agreement between the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Russian President Vladimir Putin, about the establishment of a demilitarized buffer area with items regarding the “leave of jihadis” of the area, and running Russian – Turkish patrols in the buffer area extending from the northeastern Latakia mountains through Hama and Idlib countryside, until the northwestern suburbs of Aleppo city, and these 4 months have seen the killings of civilians and the fall of casualties of the rebel, Islamic, and “jihadi” factions in addition to the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, where the Syrian Observatory documented death of 179 people, they are 43 civilians including 17 children and 6 women, were killed in shelling by the regime forces and the militiamen loyal to them, among them 3 were killed in the fall of shells launched by the factions, and 56 fighters were killed in deferent circumstances within the demilitarized area since Putin – Erdogan agreement, including 12 of the “Jihadi” fighters and 23 fighters of Jaysh al-Izza, who were killed in ambushes and clashes including a commander at least, they were killed in ambushes and attack by the regime forces in the northern countryside of Hama, and 80 members of the regime forces and the militiamen loyal to them.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published 2 days ago that despite its fragility and the daily violations, the Russian – Turkish truce is still underway on the Syrian territory within the 4 provinces Latakia, Aleppo, Hama, and Idlib after completing its 5th consecutive month, where it was launched on the 15th of August 2018, within areas controlled by the rebel, Islamic, and “jihadi” factions and the nearby regime forces’-controlled areas, where this truce have had various violations of varying violence monitored by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in a momentary and daily manner, while its guarantors sought to let their guarantees of stopping the shelling and hostilities, after which it was turned from a truce to reason to stop the military operation against Idlib Province, and the adjacent factions’ controlled areas, and then the agreement of the 17th of September 2018 between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came to reinforce the truce through establishing a “demilitarized area”, stretches from the northern mountains of Latakia, passes through Sahl al-Ghab, and the western, eastern, southern and southeastern countryside of Idlib, the northern and northeastern country of Hama, and the southern suburbs of Aleppo until the northwest of Aleppo city and its suburbs, and the western part of the city.
The Russian – Turkish truce did not hold up, but rather Russian – Turkish polishing attempts, to show the “positive” role of both parties in promoting peace within Syrian territory and reducing violence, However, things changed from what they had imagined, where the jihadists who were given the deadline to leave on the 15th of October 2018 have not left, and instead of that they sought to impose their presence in the demilitarized area, of which they control more than 70% of it, and now they are imposing their presence and control over most of it, also they turned around the agreement of withdrawing the heavy weapons, through burying them in trenches set up within the demilitarized area. And after the agreement insisted on their departure; the 5th month of the Russian – Turkish truce agreement and the 3rd month of their deadline of their leave from the demilitarized area, witnessed the expansion of the “jihadi” groups, which includes thousands of non-Syrian national fighters, and the expansion came through an attack by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham ended by imposing its control over about 9000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to about 4.8% of the Syrian territory, and the displacement of fighters of Ahrar Sham and the National Liberation Front towards Afrin area.