Syria's rebels reject buffer zone agreement

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A key rebel alliance in Syria's Idlib said it was opposed to the deployment of Russian forces in the planned demilitarised zone followed by the country's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem confirmed Moscow and Damascus had been in "intensive consultations" on the issue.

"We welcomed the agreement on Idlib reached in Sochi on September 17," Muallem added.

The top Syrian diplomat made the remarks while addressing the 73rd United Nations General Assembly on Saturday.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem gives a press conference in Damascus, June 2, 2018. /VCG Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached a deal last month that their countries would provide for the establishment of a U-shaped buffer zone around Idlib that would be free of both jihadists and heavy weapons.

The buffer would be patrolled by Turkish troops and Russian military police.

Under the agreement, all factions in the planned buffer area must hand over their heavy weapons by October 10 and radical groups must withdraw by October 15.

The National Liberation Front (NLF), a powerful Turkish-backed rebel alliance in Idlib, cautiously welcomed the deal but has since raised objections.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during a news conference following their talks in Sochi, September 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

"We discussed the issue, and the NLF took a clear position rejecting this matter," NLF spokesman Naji Mustafa said late Sunday, adding that Turkey "pledged that it would not happen".

His statement was the latest indication of continued divisions and confusion over the accord.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said Sunday that an NLF faction known as Faylaq al-Sham had begun pulling out its heavy weapons from three towns in the planned zone.

But both Faylaq al-Sham and the NLF denied the withdrawal.

Idlib lies on the border with Turkey and is held by a complex array of rival rebel and jihadist factions, which observers expect will complicate the buffer zone's creation.

Most of the territory where the buffer would be set up is held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist-led alliance, and other hardliners.

(Cover: Syrian rebel fighters parade following military training at an unknown location in the northern countryside of the Idlib province, September 11, 2018. /VCG Photo)

(With input from AFP)