BEIRUT: Thousands of residents of Syria’s last major rebel bastion Idlib headed home within 48 hours of a deal being announced to avoid a government offensive to retake the province, a war monitor said on Wednesday.
As air strikes intensified earlier this month, the looming threat of a Russian-backed assault had prompted tens of thousands of civilians to flee areas near the front line.
But many headed home after a deal was reached between Russia and rebel supporter Turkey to create a demilitarised buffer zone along the front line, as the first step in a wider settlement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Around 7,000 people have returned to their towns and villages since the announcement of the deal on Monday, especially in the southeast of Idlib and the north of (neighbouring) Hama,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory.
At a camp for the displaced in the town of Atme on the Turkish border on Tuesday, dozens of Syrians held up banners welcoming the agreement.
“We will return, God permitting,” said one.
“Thank you to our Turkish brothers,” said another, signed by the people of a town in the north of Hama province that had been bombarded in recent weeks.
One of the demonstrators, Marhaf al Jadou, said he was tired of running from the shelling and air strikes.
“Enough of being displaced and sitting in tents. We want to return to our homes and our children to their schools,” he said.
The United Nations has given cautious backing to the Russian-Turkish agreement.
It “will allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for the saving of civilian lives,” UN humanitarian coordinator in Syria, Ali al Zaatari, said on Tuesday.
“We are engaging with all parties involved for more information and how this can be used to allow us to further access people in need,” he said on Wednesday.
The civil war in Syria has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions more since it erupted with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Around half of the three million residents of the rebel zone in and around Idlib have fled from other parts of Syria recaptured by government forces in previous offensives.
Meanwhile, several hardline groups based in north-western Syria have rejected an agreement by Turkey and Russia to set up a demilitarised zone in Idlib province, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.
Among those groups are Ansar al Tawheed and Ansar Allah, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Both are members of the Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) coalition and are considered the more radical groups within the alliance.
Another group that has rejected the deal is Hurras al Deen, which broke away from the HTS alliance, led by a former Al Qaeda affiliate group. Hurras al Deen has always rejected the growing Turkish influence in Idlib and Turkey’s setting up of observation posts in the province.
According to the watchdog, those groups have refused to withdraw from points on the front lines with Syrian government forces, which are located in Idlib’s western area of Jisr al Shoughour, the eastern countryside of Idlib and the northern countryside of Hama.
Russia and Turkey agreed this week to create a buffer zone by October 15 in a 15-20 square-kilometre area that will separate Syrian troops and rebels.
According to the deal, the rebels will hand over their heavy weapons under the supervision of Russia and Turkey by November 10.
Russia has been the major benefactor of the Syrian government in the country’s seven-year civil war, while Turkey has supported the rebels. — Agencies
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