Syrian rebel groups 'complete' weapons withdrawal from Idlib zone

Syrian rebel groups finished withdrawing heavy weaponry on Monday from a newly created demilitarised zone in Idlib, Turkey's state news agency Anadolu reported.

Syrian opposition sources said all heavy weapons were being removed from the frontlines, including Grad rocket launchers, mortars and medium-range missiles, according to Anadolu.

The National Liberation Front (NLF), a Turkey-backed coalition of 12 rebel factions, announced on Saturday that it had begun withdrawing heavy arms from the zone as part of an agreement between Syrian regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey.

The accord, reached on September 17 in Sochi, aims to stave off a massive regime assault on Idlib province by creating a 15 to 20-kilometre (9-12 mile) buffer zone ringing the area.

Under the deal, all rebels in the demilitarised zone must withdraw heavy arms by Wednesday, and radical groups must leave by 15 October.

Other Syrian rebels are due to remain within the zone to assist Turkish troops monitoring and patrolling the area, the NFL group has said.

The agreement was aimed at averting a threatened Syrian regime offensive on the last opposition-held bastion, which the United Nations warned would cause a humanitarian catastrophe.

On Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the Russian-Turkish deal is a "temporary one" that prevented bloodshed but his regime's ultimate goal is to restore control over all of Syria. 

Idlib is home to three million people, almost half of whom have been evacuated from other parts of the country where Syrian regime fighters have regained control.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the militant group which controls most of Idlib, has not yet said whether it will comply with the deal.