Syria opposition says Turkey to resume patrols in Idlib

The official spokesman of the National Liberation Front, Captain Naji Mustafa, said the Turkish army will resume patrolling areas in the demilitarised zone in and around the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib.

Mustafa told Arabi21 that the bad weather conditions delayed the patrols, which were scheduled to begin on Saturday, however Turkey is likely to resume the patrols soon.

Earlier this month, Turkey and Russia announced that the armies of both countries will patrol the demilitarised zone from Idlib to Aleppo under an agreement signed in September last year.

However, the two armies later stopped the patrols, for unspecified reasons.

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Meanwhile, another opposition military source told the news site that the Turkish army is expected to patrol more areas than the ones announced.

According to the source, Turkey is looking to expand the patrols’ route to include Hama all the way to Latakia in order to prevent violations on all contact lines.

Last week, Russian warplanes bombed for the first time since the signing of the Sochi agreement sites in the city of Idlib.