Turkey-russia patrols start amid protests
ANKARA: Turkish and Russian troops began joint patrols on Sunday on a key highway in northwest Syria, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said, while both the Russian government and Syrian opposition activists said the patrols were shortened because of protests.
Patrols on the highway known as the M4, which runs east-west through Idlib province, are part of a cease-fire agreement between Turkey and Russia signed earlier this month. The ceasefire ended an escalation in fighting that saw the Turkish military in rare direct conflict with Syrian government troops.
The vital highway, which runs through northern Syria from the Mediterranean to the Iraqi border, has been partially closed since 2012. Work has been underway over the past days to refurbish it for traffic. Some sections of the M4 remain under rebel control.
For the past three days, residents of rebel-held parts of the highway have protested in rejection of Russian troops patrolling the road because of Moscow’s strong support to Syrian government forces.
“The first Turkish-russian united land patrol was carried out on the M4 highway in Idlib with the involvement of land and air elements,” Turkey’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Turkey and Russia carried out their first joint patrol mission along the M4 highway Sunday adding that “the patrols’ route was shortened” after militants used women and children to block the way. The Defense Ministry’s statement was carried by state-run news agency Tass. Ankara has been given additional time to ensure the safety of troops taking part in joint patrols, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Syrian opposition activists said residents blocked the highway with burning tires near the village of Nairab on the southern edge of Idlib in rejection to patrols by “Russian occupation forces.” The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor with activists on the ground in Syria, said the joint patrols were not successful as they moved a short distance west of the government held town of Saraqeb before being stopped by the protests.
It added that militant groups have threatened to attack Russian forces on the highway.
Idlib is mostly controlled by Al Qaeda-linked militants. Ankara backs some of the opposition groups in Idlib, the fighters’ final stronghold against the Russian-backed forces of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.