Turkey, Russia hold 11th joint patrol in Idlib

Turkish and Russian military elements performed the 11th joint patrol along a key highway in Idlib, northwestern Syria, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

“Within the framework of TUR-RF Agreement/Protocol, the 11th TUR-RF Combined Land Patrol on M-4 Highway in Idlib was conducted with the participation of land and air elements,” the ministry said in an official statement.

The M4 highway, also known as the Aleppo-Al Hasakah road, is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Turkey's southern border.

The tenth joint patrol was carried out on Tuesday.

This March, 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.”

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.

This March, 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.”

The Turkish army on Wednesday set up a new observation point in the Nabi Ayoub hilltop in Jabal al-Zawiya area, according to Zaman al-Wasl reporter.

Idlib has long been under siege by Assad regime forces and its allies, and previous cease-fires for the region were plagued by violations.

Since April 2018, attacks on the last opposition stronghold have dramatically intensified and caused new waves of refugees to move toward the Turkish border, putting the country, which already hosts 3.7 million Syrians, into a difficult position.

As a result, Turkey, which has the second-largest army in the transatlantic NATO alliance, has funneled troops and equipment into the region to stop the Syrian regime's advance and to avoid a fresh wave of refugees.

(Zaman Al Wasl, AA)