Air strikes stop in Syria's Idlib after truce announced

Air strikes on Syria's northwestern Idlib region stopped on Friday after the government announced it had agreed to a truce following more than three months of deadly bombardment.

But jihadists dominating Idlib warned that regime violations would effectively "nullify" the ceasefire, which Damascus said will depend on rebel backer Turkey implementing a buffer zone in the area.

Most of Idlib province and parts of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

The region is supposed to be protected from a massive government offensive by a Turkish-Russian deal struck in September in the Russian resort of Sochi.

But the deal has faltered and Syrian forces, along with Russia, have stepped up their bombardment there since the end of April, displacing 400,000 people according to the UN.

On Thursday, a new ceasefire went into effect as Syria peace talks resumed in Kazakhstan between Turkey and regime allies Russia and Iran.

"A cautious calm has reigned since just before midnight (2100 GMT)," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights told AFP on Friday.

He said that Syrian and Russia aircraft were no longer seen flying over Idlib following the truce welcomed by Moscow.

But regime forces and jihadists traded artillery fire in various parts of the region on Friday despite the deal, the Observatory said.

A civilian was killed and three others wounded in jihadist rocket fire near Qardaha -- the ancestral village of President Bashar al-Assad -- in Latakia, state news agency SANA said.

- 'Waiting endlessly' -

Since late April, some 790 civilians have been killed by regime and russian attacks, the Observatory says.

Fighting over the same period has claimed the lives of nearly two thousand combatants, including 900 regime loyalists, according to the monitor.

Syria's representative at the peace talks in Kazakhstan on Friday said the success of the latest truce depends on the implementation of last year's Turkish-Russian plan for a demilitarised buffer zone.

The September accord was never fully implemented as jihadists refused to withdraw from the area.

"The ceasefire agreement is conditioned on Turkey upholding the Astana and Sochi agreements," Bashar Jaafari said during the second day of talks in the Kazakh capital, calling the new truce "a test of Turkey's intentions".

He called on the guarantors of the talks to assume "their responsiblities by putting pressure on Turkey" to fulfil the conditions of last year's accord.

But he warned that Damascus would not be "waiting endlessly."

"Even though we are patient, this time our patience will be limited," he said.

HTS, however, said the success of the ceasefire would depend on Damascus.

"Any bombardment or assault on the cities and towns of the liberated north, will nullify the ceasefire agreement," it said in its first response to the truce.

In a statement obtained by AFP, HTS said it "reserves the right to respond" to any breach.

- 'Clever ploy' -

Assad, who now controls around 60 percent of the country, has vowed to reclaim the rest, including Idlib, Syria's last major jihadist bastion.

"I don't see the ceasefire lasting as Assad will not tolerate Idlib being outside his sphere of influence," said Syria researcher Samuel Ramani.

"But its a clever ploy likely instigated by Russia to bolster the credibility and perceived effectiveness of the Astana talks," he told AFP.

Abu Abdo, a 61-year-old from the Idlib town of Ariha, said the truce would be leveraged to secure regime gains.

"How many ceasefires have been brokered?" he asked rhetorically.

"They are cheaters. They have used every ceasefire to reclaim (opposition-held) areas," said the man who lost his wife and two children to bombardment on the region.

Abu Mohammad, 50, said he too was cynical.

"The regime has no credibility and we don't trust it at all," said the man, also from Ariha.

Syria expert Nawar Oliver said if anti-government groups in the region reject the truce Russia will continue "to bomb civilians and carry out massacres".

Or they could abide by the ceasefire, placing themselves at the mercy of Moscow "which has a track record violating agreements," Oliver told AFP.

The Syrian conflict has killed more than 370,000 people and driven millions from their homes since it started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.

Syria says Idlib ceasefire depends on Turkey
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan (AFP) Aug 2, 2019 - Syria said Friday said the success of a ceasefire in its northwestern region of Idlib depends on Turkey disarming rebels of heavy weapons and implementing a buffer zone.

Syrian negotiator Bashar Jaafari, speaking at peace talks in Kazakhstan, attacked the Turkish military presence in the area and called Syria's ceasefire statement on Thursday "a test of Turkey's intentions".

The comments came during the second day of talks brokered by Syria's allies Russia and Iran, along with rebel-backer Turkey.

Jaafari also called on the guarantors of the talks to assume "their responsiblities by putting pressure on Turkey" to fulfil the conditions of an accord struck last year.

"The ceasefire agreement is conditioned on Turkey upholding the Astana and Sochi agreements by disarming terrorists of heavy and medium weapons," Jaafari said.

Jaafari also accused the militant groups of shelling areas under Damascus' control in northwest Syria "from areas Turkey controls in Idlib."

"Even though we are patient, this time our patience will be limited. We will not be waiting endlessly for Turkey to fulfil its commitments," he said.

Syria state news agency SANA reported Thursday that the government had agreed to a truce in Idlib on condition a Turkish-Russian buffer-zone deal is implemented.

It cited a military source who announced the regime's "approval for a ceasefire in the de-escalation zone in Idlib starting from tonight" on the condition that jihadists and rebels withdraw from a buffer zone as per a September accord.

Moscow welcomed the statement.

Idlib is the last major jihadist-run bastion in Syria after eight years of brutal conflict.

Idlib and parts of the neighbouring provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia are under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

- Contact with militants -

Speaking in Nur-Sultan on Friday the Kremlin's chief negotiator on Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev called on the moderate opposition to distance itself from radical groups in the region.

"We have appealed to the moderate opposition to do everything possible not to have any contacts or agreements with these militants," he said.

The Idlib region is supposed to be protected from a massive government offensive by the September buffer zone deal but it has come under increasing bombardment by the regime and its Russian ally over the past three months.

Lavrentyev said he expected that militant groups operating there would continue to offer fierce resistance.

A joint statement on the talks in Kazakhstan's capital Nur-Sultan released by Russia, Iran and Turkey showed little progress towards ending Syria's conflict.

Moscow is seen as driving the talks in the Kazakh capital which has now seen 13 rounds of negotiations since the beginning of 2017.

Lavrentyev stressed a number of humanitarian issues addressed by the two-day talks and expressed hope a desert camp for displaced persons near the Jordanian border would be closed this month.

According to the UN, around 25,000 people remained in the isolated Rukban camp near the Al-Tanf base used by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, after over 17,000 left between March and July 21.

This round of talks in Nur-Sultan were the first attended by observer delegations from neighbouring Jordan and Syria.

The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a crackdown on anti-government protests.

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