Despite ongoing daily bombardments carried out by regime forces with Russian backing in Idleb, the last two days have seen a major decrease in air and artillery attacks, while the head of the Syrian opposition delegation to the Astana talks, Ahmed Taameh, said on Wednesday that an agreement for a truce in Idleb had been reached in the Kazakh capital.
On Wednesday no new air raids by warplanes were recorded in Idleb province, although Assad’s forces have continued to bombard some towns with artillery and rockets. The town of Bidama, in the western Jisr al-Shughour countryside, was targeted with seven rockets, according to the Civil Defense teams.
Tuesday also passed without new raids by warplanes recorded in Idleb, despite the ongoing artillery and rocket bombardment carried out by Assad’s forces in the towns of al-Hanbushiyeh, Bidama, and al-Janoudiyeh west of Idleb.
The reduction in air and artillery bombardment coincides with the 14th round of Astana talks, which concluded on Wednesday.
Relative truce
The Anadolu agency quoted the head of the Syrian opposition delegation to the talks, Ahmed Taameh, as saying in a press conference held after the session, that a deal had been reached regarding “the truce in Idleb,” and calling for the truce to be “permanent and not relative.”
The opposition spokesman Ayman al-Asmi presented a video clip documenting eight months of regime and Russian bombardment on Idleb, saying that these attacks had killed hundreds of civilians.
Asmi said that, “The issue of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in Idleb is a pretext to continue the bombardment. The issue in Idleb is humanitarian and not terrorists—the intention is to expel civilians.”
Russia: Separate opposition from the terrorists
An aide to the Russian president, Alexander Lavrentiev, said in press statements in the Kazakh capital that, “Turkey has still not fully carried out its duties regarding the ceasefire in Idleb, and so we will continue dialogue with it in this respect.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting US President Donald Trump in Washington that Turkey has not yet been able to, “separate the armed opposition from the al-Nusra Front terrorists in the de-escalation zone in Idleb,” adding that it was necessary to “fully liberate Idleb from the terrorists so that the Syrian government can regain control over it.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
