(Zaman Al Wasl)- Despite fragile buffer zone deal and mounting skirmishes, thousands of people came out to the streets of rebel-held areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces to rally against the Syria regime and the key ally Russia.
Demonstrators held up the three-star flag of the Syrian revolution and placards recalling the first days of the Syrian revolution in 2011, saying their goal is the toppling of the Assad regime and stopping the Russian aggression.
The de-militarized zone in Idlib province and parts of Hama was announced by rebel backer Ankara and Moscow in September to separate regime troops from rebel fighters in Idlib and adjacent areas.
Under the deal, the rebels were supposed to have removed all heavy weapons from the buffer zone by Oct. 10 but skirmishes have continued to pit regime forces against militants and other insurgents on the ground.
Rebel factions have said they withdrew their heavy weapons from the zone but Hayat Tharir al-Sham, an alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda branch and other hardline groups have refused to pull out their fighters.
Russia has said rebels are trying to wreck the Russian-Turkish initiative and Damascus has said Turkey seems unwilling to implement it. But Turkey says the deal is going to plan.
About 20 regime troops were killed and wounded Friday in a surprise attack targeted three checkpoints for regime army forces near the village of Forrow in the western countryside of Hama.
Last week, Tahrir al-Sham killed at least eight regime troops in the north of Hama province.
The deadly militant assault came hours after regime troops killed 23 fighters of a formerly U.S.-backed Jaish al-Izza group. The regime forces pushed into the stronghold of Jaish al-Izaa near the town of al-Latameh.
In retaliation, rebels wounded 9 regime army troops in rocket attack on Joureen military camp, local activists said.
Also in the northern countryside of Hama, several troops were killed and wounded by a landmine near the town of Bredeeg, local reporter said Monday.
Meanwhile, Tahrir al-Sham is on alert amid concerns of imminent offensive on northern Idlib province following violations for the Russian -brokered buffer zone agreement, sources said.
All the formations and units of Tahrir al-Sham have been mobilizing units.
A statement issued by Tahrir al-Sham accused the regime forces of breaching the deal through unprecedented attacks on the northern countryside of Hama and Idlib province that left casualties, including 10 civilians.
Idlib and some adjacent areas are the last major rebel bastion in Syria, where the Russian-backed regime has in recent months retaken much of the territory it had lost since the civil war erupted.
It had threatened an assault on rebel territory around Idlib, which is home to some three million people, but the truce deal struck by Russia and Turkey averted it.
Aid organizations had warned that a fully-fledged offensive on Idlib could spark the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the civil war so far.
More than 470,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict erupted with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Zaman Al Wasl
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