(Zaman Al Wasl)- Turkish and Russian forces on Tuesday have carried out a new joint patrol along a strategic M4 highway in northwestern Syria, said Turkey’s Defense Ministry.
"Fifth combined Turkish-Russian land patrol was conducted today by air and ground vehicles on M4 motorway in Syria’s Idlib province, as part of the earlier TR-RF agreement," the ministry said on Twitter.
The M4 highway, also known as the Aleppo-Hasakah road, is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Turkey's southern border.
Last month, Ankara and Moscow agreed on a protocol urging parties to "cease all military actions along the line of contact in the Idlib de-escalation area” starting on March 6, according to Anadolu Agency.
The protocol said joint Turkish-Russian patrols would begin on March 15 along the M4 highway from the settlement of Trumba – 2 km (1.2 miles) to the west of Saraqib – to the settlement of Ain al-Havr.
Since the ceasefire agreed between Russia and Turkey on March 5, the lowest death toll ever was recorded in Syria in nine years. Also, more than 110,000 displaced people have been returned home, the Syrian Response Coordinators Team said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that the Syrian regime was violating a ceasefire in the Idlib region, warning that Damascus would suffer "heavy losses" if it persisted.
In his turn, Bashar al-Assad has condemned "ongoing encroachments by Turkey on the sovereignty and territory of Syria," in the country's north where Ankara has deployed troops, set up military posts and backed rebels battling the regime, AFP reported Monday.
Idlib province is home to 3.5 million civilians, according to the United Nations.
The nine-year-old conflict has killed more than 390,000 people and displaced 7 million.
(Zaman Al Wasl, AA)
Zaman Al Wasl
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