(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime forces have imposed royalties on buses carrying people of rebel-held areas in northern Idlib to regime-held areas in Hama province, military source told Zaman al-Wasl.
The ‘crossing tariff’ reached 400$ for each bus wants to enter Hama province via Morek crossing that links between in Hama and in Idlib.
Last week, the regime reopened the Morek crossing, such a step following the Russian-brokered buffer zone agreement.
Since Russian has enabled its key ally Bashar al-Assad to regain control on two-thirds of Syria, the process of reviving economic life has begun rolling.
The crossing will plump up the economic ties as goods enter both territories.
The Russian Military Police and regime customs control the regime’s side while the former al-Qaeda group, Tahrir al-Sham, on the other side.
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan agreed on September to set up the buffer zone between rebel and regime fighters, staving off a regime attack on the area which the United Nations had warned could cause a humanitarian catastrophe, according to Reuters.
The agreement announced in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on Sept. 17 would establish the zone in a 15-20 km (10-12 mile) wide strip of territory now held by rebels, and calls for joint patrols of the area by Russian and Turkish troops.
Since the Syrian revolution erupted in 2011, more than 470,000 people have been killed, and more than 6 million people have been displaced.
Zaman Al Wasl
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