The deadline is up for the first two stages of a Russian-Turkish deal to create a demilitarized “buffer belt” around Syria’s rebel-held province of Idlib. The Sept. 17 deal, agreed between the two countries’ presidents in Sochi, required militants to surrender their heavy weapons by Oct. 10 and the removal of groups deemed as “terrorist” from the zone by Oct. 15. With a fine adjustment to keep up appearances, heavy weapons were only withdrawn from the front lines, while the condition for the pullout of groups deemed as terrorist, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Hurras al-Din, the Turkistan Islamic Party and Ansar al-Islam, could not be met.
Turkey’s state-run Anatolia news agency reported the withdrawal of mortars, cannons, tanks and Grad and medium-range missile launchers, while the Defense Ministry announced Oct. 10 that “Turkey has fulfilled its responsibilities as a guarantor country” and that “the withdrawal of heavy weapons was completed” that day.