Syrian regime troops began clearing barricades from the main highway between Damascus and Aleppo on Saturday after recovering full control of the road in a Russian-backed offensive, Syrian state-run media reported.
It marks a major gain for President Bashar al-Assad, as reopening the M5 highway will restore the shortest route between Syria’s two biggest cities for the first time in more than seven years of conflict.
A reporter with state-run al-Ikhbariya news channel, broadcasting from the highway on the Aleppo outskirts, said clearing the barriers started in the early hours of Saturday.
Restoring regime control over the M5 has been seen as a major objective of a Russian-backed offensive that has been underway since early December in the rebel-held northwest.
Also in Aleppo, Russian airstrikes have killed five civilians overnight in the village of la-Sahara in the western countryside.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war using a network of sources on the ground, said government forces had captured a belt of territory around the road, securing it completely.
Observatory Director Rami Abdulrahman told Reuters the Russian-backed offensive may stop now that the road had been secured but added that the government could yet seek to seize more ground north of Aleppo to secure the city.
The reopening of the highway was part of a 2018 agreement between Russia and Turkey which was concluded with the stated aim of stabilizing the situation in the Idlib region of the northwest, a major foothold for the anti-Assad insurgency.
The pact called for establishing a de-militarized zone between the warring sides in addition to the reopening of a second highway, the main road linking Aleppo with the government-held coastal region.
In agreement with Russia, Turkish forces deployed into the northwest at a dozen observation posts.
But tensions have spiraled between Russia and Turkey during the latest offensive, as 13 Turkish soldiers have been killed by Syrian attacks in the past two weeks.
Turkey has vowed to drive back Syrian troops beyond the Turkish observation posts in Idlib by the end of this month.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Saturday Turkey has fulfilled its responsibilities in the Idlib region in line with its de-escalation agreements with Russia and Iran, which also backs Assad.
Oktay told broadcaster NTV that Turkey was determined to stop the Syrian government advances in Idlib, repeating a threat that Ankara would use military power to push back Syrian forces if they did not withdraw by the end of February. He said Turkey had conveyed its position on Idlib to Russia during the talks.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said on Friday that a total of 63 Syrian regime troops have been 'neutralized' in Idlib region.
Turkey on Thursday threatened to use force against “radicals” in Syria’s Idlib province after Russia accused Ankara of failing to “neutralise” jihadist groups under a 2018 deal.
“Force will be used in Idlib against those who do not abide by the ceasefire, including the radicals,” Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.
“Any form of measure will be taken,” he said.
Idlib – the last opposition bastion in Syria – is held by an array of rebels dominated by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group, which is led by members of the country’s former al Qaeda franchise.
The killing of 14 Turks in Idlib in regime shelling has fuelled tensions between Ankara and Damascus, while raising stakes with Russia – a key ally of Assad.
The Russia-backed regime offensive has displaced more than 800,000 people since December, the United Nations said on Thursday.
"Of the more than 800,000 people who have been displaced in northwest Syria from 1 December 2019 to 12 February 2020, some 60 percent are estimated to be children," said the United Nation's humanitarian coordination office, OCHA.
OCHA estimated that some 82,000 people are sleeping in the open air.
"Shelter is the most urgent need, as millions of people have been pushed into small areas not equipped to support that many people, especially during the cold winter," OCHA said.
It called the situation in Idlib "one of the worst" crises in the nine-year war.
The conflict in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people since it erupted in 2011 following the brutal repression of popular demonstrations demanding regime change.
More than half of Syria's population had already been displaced, but the latest regime offensive against the country's last rebel enclave has sent the numbers soaring again.
OCHA said some 142,000 people were displaced between February 9-12 alone.
Aid organisations have called for a halt to the violence.
(Zaman Al Wasl with Agencies)
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