Turkey says heavy arms pullout completed in Syria’s Idlib

Ankara (AFP) – Turkey on Wednesday said a planned buffer zone in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib has been cleared of heavy weapons as part of a deal reached between Moscow and Ankara.

“The pullout of heavy weapons from the de-militarised zone was completed on October 10,” the Turkish defence ministry said in a statement.

Turkish state media reported earlier this week that Syrian rebels had concluded their withdrawal of heavy armaments from the zone.

Regime ally Russia and rebel supporter Turkey announced an agreement on September 17 to create a demilitarised buffer zone ringing the Idlib region, home to three million people.

The deal to create a 15-20 kilometre wide zone came after a flurry of activity as Turkey sought to avoid an assault by Damascus and a further influx of people across its border.

Turkey is already home to more than three million Syrian refugees.

According to the deal, the zone would separate rebel and regime zones under the supervision of the two sponsor countries.

The first deadline to withdraw arms as part of the deal appeared on Wednesday to have been met by all sides, including the jihadists.