Erdogan says Turkish troops to deploy inside Syria's Idlib

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said that Turkish troops will deploy inside Syria's northern Idlib region as part of a so-called "de-escalation" zone brokered by Russia.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

22 September, 2017

The Idlib province lies along Syria's border with Turkey. [Getty]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said that Turkish troops will deploy inside Syria's northern Idlib region as part of a so-called "de-escalation" zone brokered by Russia.

Last week, Syrian regime allies Russia and Iran agreed with opposition backer Turkey to jointly police a "de-escalation" zone in Syria's Idlib province.

The Syrian regime's foreign ministry criticised Turkey's proposed role in monitoring the zone as "illegitimate", adding that the accord was "temporary".

The "de-escalation" zones agreed by Turkey, Russia and Iran would be further discussed in talks next week between Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip to Ankara, Erdogan told Reuters.

"Under the agreement, Russians are maintaining security outside Idlib and Turkey will maintain the security inside Idlib region," Erdogan said.

"The task is not easy ... With Putin we will discuss additional steps needed to be taken in order to eradicate terrorists once and for all to restore peace."

The Idlib zone is the fourth such area to be agreed among Turkey, Russia, and Iran after two days of talks in Kazakhstan last week aimed at easing the six-year Syria conflict.

Under the deal, a total of four de-escalation zones would be set up, each for a six-month period which could be renewed.

Three zones are already in place in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, in central Homs, and in parts of southern Syria, and are being monitored by Russian military police.

Idlib province, which lies along Syria's border with Turkey, was widely expected to be the most complex zone to establish.

Much of it is held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an alliance of fighters dominated by Al-Qaeda's former Syrian affiliate.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, mostly by the regime and its powerful allies, and millions have been displaced both inside and outside of Syria.

The brutal tactics pursued mainly by the regime, which have included the use of chemical weapons, sieges, mass executions and torture against civilians have led to war crimes investigations.