Syria rebels think jihadists will quit Idlib buffer zone

SYRIAN mainstream rebel groups said on Thursday they have growing confidence that their jihadist rivals will comply with a requirement to leave a demilitarised buffer zone set up by Turkey and Russia under a deal that averted a Russian-backed Syrian army offensive.

Earlier this month, Turkey and Russia reached an agreement to enforce a new demilitarised zone in Syria’s Idlib region from which “radical” rebels will be required to withdraw by the middle of next month.

A senior Syrian opposition official said the most powerful jihadist group in the north-west, Tahrir alSham, spearheaded by al Qaeda’s former Syrian offshoot, had sent secret feelers to the Turkish army though third parties in the last few days signalling they would comply.

“Matters are moving well and Tahrir al Sham has pledged it is going to implement but without announcing its agreement,” said the opposition official, who was briefed by Turkish officials and requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The demilitarised zone agreed by Turkey and Russia will be 15 to 20 kilometres deep and run along the contact line between rebel and government fighters. It will be patrolled by Turkish and Russian forces.

The Russian-Turkish agreement hinges on the response of jihadist fighters and could unravel quickly if Moscow and Ankara cannot jointly impose their plan on the Islamist groups.

Tahrir al Sham has yet to declare its stance on the deal and its position will be critical to its success.

Turkey had thrown its full weight with Russia to avert a major campaign by the Syrian Army to recapture Idlib that the UN warned would bring a humanitarian catastrophe. Ankara pledged to Moscow it would handle the jihadist threat.

A regional intelligence source said the jihadists were softening their stance to avoid deadly internecine fighting with mainstream rebels that could wreck the deal and allow the Syrian army and its Russian ally to resume their stalled offensive.

“I don’t expect any hurdles in implementation from all the revolutionary forces at all,” said Abdul Salam Abdul Razzak, a leading figure in the National Front for Liberation, the alliance of Turkey-allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel groups.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in an interview late on Tuesday that the withdrawal of “radical groups” had already started.

On Monday Mr Erdoğan said that Turkey would take action east of the Euphrates river in Syria and impose secure zones as it has done in the north-west of the country.

“God willing, in the period ahead we will increase the number of secure zones in Syria, encompassing the east of the Euphrates,” Mr Erdoğan said in a speech during a visit to New York.