Russia, Turkey broker full Idlib ceasefire, but shelling continues

Russia and Turkey have brokered a complete ceasefire between Syrian government forces and rebels in northwestern Syria, Russian news agencies cited the Russian military as saying on Wednesday – but shelling reportedly continued beyond the ceasefire’s start time, killing seven.

The Russian military said the ceasefire applied to the so-called Idlib de-escalation zone covering Idlib province, northeastern areas of Latakia province, western areas of Aleppo province and northern areas of Hama province.

It is hoped the ceasefire will bring an end to near relentless shelling that has seen 399 civilians, including 96 children, killed since the end of April, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The past few days of the offensive have been particularly bloody, with 27 civilians killed in airstrikes in northwestern Syria on Monday alone.

The ceasefire’s implementation led to a significant reduction in violence on Wednesday, Russian news agencies reported. However, intensive shelling reportedly took place in the Idlib and Hama countryside after midnight on Wednesday when the ceasefire was supposed to have taken effect, according to the SOHR, killing seven.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefed the Security Council on recent developments in the Middle East on Thursday.

“In Syria, deadly escalation in the country’s northwest has displaced hundreds of thousands, and if continued could result in broader humanitarian catastrophe for the three million people residing in greater Idlib,” he said.

“After more than eight years of violence, Syria’s conflict continues to take a devastating toll on the country’s civilian population, impose burdens on neighbouring states, and threaten international peace and security,” he added.

His remarks were directed at Security Council Cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States whose Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, was present.

“The alarming violence in Syria is a stark reminder of the urgent need to forge a political path to a sustainable peace for all Syrians,” Guterres said, while encouraging Arab states to support peace and contribute their “active engagement.”

Idlib is the last significant rebel stronghold in Syria. It is held by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Russia and Turkey, despite its claims to have disassociated from al-Qaeda. The group has lost significant ground to northbound regime forces over the course of the offensive.

Northwestern Syria has been the site of a torrential offensive, with the Russian-Syrian coalition having used internationally-outlawed cluster bombs, incendiary weapons and chemical weapons, as well as targeting populated areas like marketplaces and hospitals, according to a Human Rights Watch report published last week.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense have also claimed Syrian rebels possess and use “a significant amount of toxic substances” in Idlib.

The projected period of the current ceasefire is unknown. The area had been subject to a Russia-Turkey ceasefire deal brokered in Sochi in September 2018, but with Turkey unable to neutralize the HTS, which defeated Turkey-backed armed rebel groups, the ceasefire collapsed in April.

Northwestern Syria has been a subject of much political wrangling between Turkey, a backer of Syrian rebels, and Moscow, which backs the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.  Russia has placed responsibility to rein in the rebels on Turkey, while Turkey – already hosting more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees, a number set to rise if continuing violence causes Syrians to flee – has implored for an end to Russian-Syrian military offensives close to its shared border with Syria.

More than 200,000 people in northwestern Syria have already been displaced, according to the UN. Some have sought refuge close to the Turkish border, while others have crammed into already crowded camps in Syria. Many civilians in northwestern Syria had already been displaced from elsewhere in Syria due to the long-raging conflict.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu yesterday met with UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen, discussing “preservation of Idlib de-escalation area and advancing political process,” a tweet by Cavusoglu said on Wednesday night. They previously met to discuss the situation in Syria in January and March of this year.

Source: Russia, Turkey broker full Idlib ceasefire, but shelling continu